Taking Chances
by mx2blue326
Summary: Just a warning - I'm a normal teenager. But then again, I'm Maximum Ride, nothing in my life is normal. So I'll happily welcome you to my nightmare. FAX? Maybe... you'll just have to read to find out. Fly on!  Max. Rated T - cuz I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is my first story. I love the Maximum Ride stories and think James Patterson is awesome even if he did make Fang go on a little vacation out of the flock's lives. Ugh, oh well. I have chosen to forgive him because of the new book he's writing called ANGEL. Never fear, supposedly he comes back, I'm holding dear to that summary's words. Okay, so on with my author's note. I must give credit where credit is due.**

****I am co-writing this story with one of my best friends ever (known on here as NarutoLover7890), so if you see some different writing styles know that this is one that the two of us has worked on together. Also, this friend of mine is Japanese obsessed and proud of it so you will see where her twist of the story takes place. :) **

**One more thing before the inevitable disclaimer. I will try to update when I have a new chapter and when I can, but I'm not making any promises. I may update once a week, I may update twice a month, but if you like this story, all I can tell you is that you just need to have faith and keep checking. I'll try my best to not wait too long before I release a new chapter and I'll try to make them long enough to make your reading worthwhile. Here we go!**

**Disclaimer****: I am no-where near as fabulous as James Patterson so please; do not mix up this angel author with little old me! All the original characters belong to him and him alone. I'm just borrowing them as he continues this amazing series. **

**Chapter 1**

"Summer!" One of my best friends J.J. yelled as the final bell rang. She grabbed my arm and half dragged, half carried me out of our homeroom, screaming, "Goodbye, I'll miss you guys!" over her shoulder to our classmates. As we exit the classroom she runs right into Dylan who was waiting for us outside. She grabs his hand and drags him down the hall with us.

Last night's stupidity had finally worn out over the adrenaline that was pumping in my veins. (The only thing that was actually keeping me AWAKE.) I was dead on my feet. What's the point of the last day of school anyway? It was just a day to clean out your locker, sign yearbooks (which entitles having everyone you even slightly recognize sign the dang thing), meet in assembly and have the principal announce "I am so proud of each and every one of your outstanding effort this school year. You did it!" Then, J.J. would turn to me and say something in Japanese, and stare at her with a "should I know what that means?" expression written all across my face. After that, the prinicipal would congratulate the graduating class and all that jazz. Yeah, we all know the routine. Really, what's the point? So I decided to stay up till 3:00am last night. Well this morning—whatever, you get it. I'm uber tired. I got about 3 hours of sleep before I had to get up to go to "school" this morning. The only reason I went is because J.J. would have had a terrible, eardrum-bursting tantrum if I hadn't. That girl has been "gifted" with a very strong, very obnoxious pair of lungs. Breaking people's eardrums within a 10-mile radius would be listed under "hobbies" for her college resume. Not fun I tell ya. One other thing about this pixie-like friend of mine. She is totally obsessed with anything and everything Japanese. She keeps sprouting manga references at really random times.

Well before you judge me too harshly, let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Maximum Ride (Max for short) and I live with my father Jeb Batchelder and my step mother Anne Walker. Yes, my name really is Maximum and no, they did not come up with my name—I did. You'll know this because it's original, not a lame generic name like Kristen, or Tiffany. (No offense to those of you out there with those names… I just could not stand if I was named that.) Though I'll tell you, my middle name is Valencia… Ugh… that was the one and only thing Jeb would not take no for answer on. He said I have to have that as a middle name. As Jeb puts it, "it's all part of the bigger picture Maximum, you'll thank me someday." Yeah right.

Anyway, enough about names, I'm 15 years old and live in Sunny LA. I have a tall, slim, athletic frame, brown eyes and what people call "mahogany hair" with some lighter brown and blond natural highlights mixed in it. Don't ask me how that happened. It's a weird combo, but whatever. Parent's fault, not mine. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I was put up for adoption when I was an infant so I don't know who my real mom is. Somehow Jeb tracked me down and found me so I have one biological parent and a new step mom. Gee, lucky me. My favorite colors are blue and green. Good thing brown (my hair and eyes) goes well with green and blue jeans. I'm really smart but many people don't know that. I tend to keep to myself and have a few select people that I actually trust. J.J. and Dylan included. J.J. has been with me since the 1st grade and we met Dylan when he moved here in 2nd grade. We've been inseparable ever since, but now back to that last fateful day of 9th grade...

The halls were barely beginning to fill when I was smacked against my locker and ordered by an ecstatic J.J. to clean it out and meet her and Dylan in the front of the school, ASAP.

"I swear, if you take longer than the time that it took for Hanazawa Rui to figure out he was not meant for Tsukushi, I'll be pissed." she stated, with a sparkle in her eye, and a slight grin on her face-that meant she wasn't serious. I just stare with a confused expression lining my face then turn to attend to my locker.

I purposefully take my own sweet time doing this inevitable chore just to annoy the petite, Japanese obsessed, half Asian girl that thought she could control me. Ah, poor J.J. she should know by now that I can't resist reverse psychology. (Haha.)

As I pulled the last binder out from my locker, I shut the door with a good solid "BANG" and stalked my way over to Dylan's locker three sets down the hall.

"Dylan, kill me now. She's driving me crazy and we're only two minutes into summer!" Dylan's deep blue eyes twinkled. I realized with a start that I had to look up to meet them, he had grown, a lot. We used to be more or less the same height until this past year. We had shot past J.J.'s 5'2" back in 6th grade. I stopped growing in 8th at 5'8". Dylan kept going past me and was now easily 6'. He notices my thoughtful expression.

"What?" He asks defensively with an intense look in his eyes.

"Oh nothing." I reply blushing slightly, which was totally uncalled for.

"Okay, if you say so." He says, he's cool like that, not pushing for information. Gives you your privacy. I see that he's done cleaning out his locker and grab his hand so that we can meet J.J. in front of the school.

When we get to the door, J.J. is already pacing impatiently on the top of the stairs.

"Finally! Seriously it seemed like you guys were taking half the summer to just get those books out of that hole in the wall." J.J. exclaimed. Oh, if only she knew.

"That's exactly what I was trying to do, J." I say using my nickname for her nickname. Her real name is Jennifer Joy. She hates her name but her parents wouldn't let her change it…Hmmm I guess Jeb really isn't all that bad. He gives me freedoms like naming myself. How many kids can say that they named themselves? NONE! (Shaw!)

"Gah! _Mukatsuku n dayo._" J.J. spat in my direction. I laughed and grabbed her hand. Pulling Dylan up beside me. I release their hands and link my arms through theirs and start heading down the stairs.

"Ah, come on J.J. I wouldn't say that... shes worse." Dylan teases. I turn my death glare to him.

"How do you know what she said was bad?" I ask Dylan.

"Oh that's easy, whenever she says something in Japanese, you know it's bad, really bad. So bad, she can't say it in English. Hmmm... thought you would have figured that out by now." That's when I elbow him, none to gently, in the ribs.

"Haha, very funny you guys. Come on! Lets go to Charlotte's." Charlotte's was the popular diner that was the #1 hangout for the kids from our school, Sunset Beach High. Then a thought occurs to me. "J.J. what exactly did you call me?" I ask, a little wary.

"Oh! Hahahahaha! I'm SO glad you asked!" Yup. Definitely still ticked. "Basically, it means that I'm pissed off. Like, when Sano Izumi was ticked off with Nakatsu Shuichi." A smug grin spread across her face because she knew I didn't catch on to anything after the 'I'm pissed with you' part. She was right of course, but it still go on my nerves.

"Enough you two, let us survive at least one day of summer before you two start killing each other? I don't know about you but Charlotte's still sounds good to... me..." Dylan says trailing off for now he has two 15 year old girl's death glares trained on him. Mine makes him squirm, I notice gleefully.

"Fine… I guess a root beer float would be okay." J.J. replied sullenly, still annoyed with yours truly. What can I say? I have a knack for getting on people's nerves, especially my friends.

"Look, how's about I say a really sincere apology and promise to treat on our first summer trip to Charlottes?" I say trying to placate her.

"Fine," J.J. replied, rolling her eyes for my benefit. We walked arm in arm toward the center of town where our favorite hangout was.

*ooOoo*

"So, wha-ya wanna duh on au-uh firs' day of summer?" J.J. said incomprehensibly as she slurped her root bear float down.

"Dunno." I said flatly. Dylan nods in agreement. He just sips his chocolate shake listening to our banter.

"Hmm… you're boring."

"Yeah, I know…" I said with a big smile. Just to spite her, I grab an extra spoon and steal a bite of her vanilla ice cream before she has time to register what had happened.

"MAXIMUM RIDE! You are the single most annoying person that has ever walked this planet! Saying that you're like Aizen would be an understatement." J.J. swears.

I laugh and just say, "That's why you love me!" J.J. is still steaming over this last exchange when suddenly my phone erupts with the loud notes of Sing It Loud's 'No One Can Touch Us.' I look over the caller ID. Hmm... he almost never bothers me after school. He's too busy with his "extremely important business to attend to". This was going to be interesting.

"What?" I snap into the phone's receiver. Dylan and J.J. glace over at me curiously. As the conversation progresses they can tell who I'm talking to. My father.

"Hello to you too, Maximum." He says with a sigh.

"I told you to call me Max!" I never use my real name if I can help it.

"Well I am your father so I think I have a right to call you your full name. Especially since I got a call from the preschool saying that you have neglected to pick up your little brother. Remember Ari?" he reprimands into my ear.

"What are you talking about? Anne is supposed to pick him up. Not me." By this point I was getting a little annoyed. What right did he have to tell me that I was "neglecting" my responsibilities by not picking up my brother from his preschool.

"Yes, well she is playing tennis and then going to the spa with one of her friends at the club." The Club is the Sunset Beach Club where both Jeb and Anne are active members. Anne has many stuck up friends who meet there regularly for tennis, spa treatments, and, of course, dining.

"Well, both of you failed to tell me that." I keep my voice crisp and cold.

"Hmmm… I'm sure I mentioned it this morning, when you had those blasted earphones plugging your ears?" Okay, that is not entirely a lie. I somewhat guiltily remember deciding to listen to my ipod this morning to drown out Jeb's voice as he drawled on and on about what was happening in his oh so hectic life. He could have mentioned Ari then but I was lost in sounds of Kelly Clarson's 'Already Gone.'

"Oh… well you could have pulled them out you know? Ugh, fine I'll go pick him up. Call them back and tell them I'll be there in 10 minutes."

"Thank you Maximum. I'll see you tonight for dinner. Oh, and please tell Annie to iron my black pinstripe suit with the navy blue tie. I'll need it for a meeting tomorrow."

"Whatever. Bye." Then I hung up. "Sorry guys, I gotta go pick up Ari from preschool. I'll catch you later."

"Alright, bye Max." J.J. said, a little downcast, our earlier fight already forgotten. I put a $5.00 bill under my empty glass. More than enough.

"Do you want company? I'll come with you if you want." Dylan asks. Thank God for him, he is such a good sport. He's willing to trek halfway across town with me on the first day of vacation.

"Sure. That will be great. Thanks! Bye J.J." I called over my shoulder.

**So what do ya think? I'm not going to be one of those authors that constantly ask for reviews so do what you like. This story is just here for you enjoyment. So enjoy! If you liked it, keep checking back with it. You might find a new chapter awaiting you. **

**Fly on!**

**Mx2Blue326 & NarutoLover7890**


	2. Chapter 2

**KONNICHIWA. **

**Yo, this is NarutoLover7890. First of all, ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU to all of you who reviewed! (BTW, if you don't know what that means, it means "Thank you very much!") You guys make us feel so good! ** Reminder you don't need to review at all if you don't want to or don't have the time. :) ** **

**Anyway, the next chapter is going to show a bit more. Hopefully you'll feel the tension between Max and Jeb, and how close Dylan actually is to her. I hope this turned out a success! We wanted to try something a little different in the point of view of the characters, so hopefully that worked out well... What we try to do is someone writes a section of a chapter, and then the other person does the editing, and it goes back and forth on different sections of the chapters between the two of us. Well, here's chapter 2. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:**** This does not belong to us. All rights go to James Patterson. Yep… thank God that's now cleared up… we can FINALLY get a move on with this story!**

**And so the plot unfolds...**

**Chapter 2**

This sucks. I have no car, no bike, nothing. It takes us _forever_ to finally reach Ari's preschool. At least I had some company. The good thing about Dylan is that even when there's nothing to talk about, it's never awkward, which made the walk seem shorter than normal. I entered the red door with cute hand-made paper bears scotch-taped to the door, Dylan's right behind me. As I scanned the room my eyes finally came upon my adorable, blond haired, brown eyed, wearing the cutest overalls you'd ever see, baby brother.

"Max!" Ari smiled and ran over to me, giving me a hug. "I thought you'd forgotten about me..." he stared into my eyes. (Wow. _Now _I feel guilty...)

"What are you talking about, silly?" I forced a smile and ruffled his unruly blond hair. "I just got a bit side tracked with Dylan and J.J."

Okay, can we go home now?" he asked.

"Sure thing." I replied as a stood back up and grabbed Ari's backpack. Ari waved to his cute little classmates and grabbed his hand and started for the door.

"Hey little guy!" Dylan said as he scooped Ari up in his arms. He started tickling his stomach. Ari started laughing his head off. His innocent eyes were warm in the summer sun.

"Stawp it, pweeeze! Stawp it! Pwweeeeze Dywan?" Ari managed to get out between giggles.

"Okay buddy. Can I set you down now?" Dylan asks.

"NO! You my howrsie, giddy up howrsie!" Ari yells. Laughing I decide to interveine.

"Hey! If you stay on Dylan's back then I won't be able to hold your hand!" I say, feigning a hurt look. "Will you really stay up there the whole way home?" I ask trying to get him to come down, off of Dylan. I know personally what it was like to have him clinging onto you while your trying to get somewhere. More like trying, and failing miserably. Ari's face contorts into one of complete concentration. I can almost see the gears turning in his head as he tries to weigh the option of riding his personal Dylan pony home or coming down and holding his sister's hand. For him it was a hard decision. You don't get to play "howrsie" with Dylan everyday but luckily he loved me a lot. And I adore him so it's a win-win for both of us!

"Okay. Down howrsie, down!" Ari demands. He jumps down from Dylan's stiff back and runs over to me to place his hand in my own. As we continue down the street Dylan rolls his shoulders a few times and shoots me a grateful smile, which I return quickly.

"What's for dinner?" Ari asks suddenly.

"Oh, I don't know. Are you hungry?" I ask.

"Yeaaah. I ate awl my animawl cwackas before evoryone ewse." He admits in his innocent child voice.

"Okay. Let's hurry home so that we can get some food into you!" At the thought of food Ari starts walking with a little more of a spring in his step. He is now dragging me and telling me to hurry up. I remember Dylan is still walking with us and a wave of gratitude washes over me. He is such a good friend.

"Hey Dylan, would you like to join my family and I for dinner at my house tonight? I don't know what we are having but I'm sure you'll like it." Dylan's been to my house for dinner many times before. He knows how good Annie, our housekeeper's, food is.

"That would be great. Lemme just text me my mom. She's probably still in her meeting. I'm sure she'd be cool with it." He takes out his phone and starts tapping at the keypad. Yeah, his mom would be cool with it. I know she feels guilty for leaving him alone all the time. He has no siblings, his dad died when he was eight, and his mom was swept up in her job. She and my father were business partners both presidents, very high up in ranks. They were both scientists at a special lab. Dylan and I have been to their offices a few times but never into the labs.

"Too much valuable and breakable merchandise in there." My father would say whenever I asked him about it. "Wouldn't want you to break anything in there. It would cost a fortune to replace anything in that lab. Our company only has the best." Then he would act real proud and start a long lecture about how fabulous his company is and how it has evolved over the years into a billion dollar industry that has helped many people. His business is called Itex.

I come back to reality as we arrive at my front door. We live in a huge mansion that has a magnificent view of the beach. We live only a two minute walk away from it. I like going to the beach. It helps me think, therefore I go there often. I release Ari's hand as he runs for the door, awaiting his snack. I stand there at the foot of the stairs with a smile on my face as I watch my younger brother dash up the house. When I turn I find Dylan staring intently at me. Just like at school in front of his locker. Whatever, boys do weird things, I decide to ignore it and reach out my hand. His finds mine and I pull him into the house.

*ooOoo*

"So, Maximum, how was your last day of school?" Jeb asked without looking at my face.

"Uhh...pointless, I guess." I answered bluntly talking to my empty plate.

"That's good." he said absentmindedly. I raised an eyebrow at Dylan. He was shaking with silent laughter.

"What about you, Dylan?" Dylan recovered and tried to compose himself, somewhat, then answered Jeb.

"Um, it was pointless as Max said, but it was fun." Dylan said. Jeb looked at him in surprise.

"What? When did she say that?" Jeb said, startled. Of course he would listen to perfect Dylan. He _loved_ Dylan. Always had and always will. Just then Anne came to the rescue.

"Max, dear, would you help your brother get seated?" Anne asked from the kitchen.

"Uh. Sure thing." I stood up and walked over to Ari's side of the table and picked him up and carefully set him down on the bench. He beamed up at me as I returned to my seat. The grand dining room had a long mahogany table that seated two people on the heads and had nice long bench seats on the sides. It was huge, and with the five of us, only occupied one third of the table. Jeb sat at the head of the table. I sat next to Dylan on Jeb's left. Ari occupied the bench across from us.

Anne came in and took her seat next to Ari. Now we could finally start this painful dinner. Thank God for Dylan, he would help me get through it. Annie came in behind them and brought the platters laden with food. Then she returned to the kitchen door, that was all normal. Then she did something that was not so normal, she loitered by the doorway and turned her head as if hoping to overhear some juicy bit of gossip. I shook it off when I felt Dylan's knee bump against mine. I shot a glance at him. He just smiled at me. Like I said, weird. Instead I turned my attention to my plate and dug in. The only sounds were forks hitting plates. Annie was no longer standing there in the doorway but I had a strong suspicion that she was standing right around the corner.

"Well, Max," that voice stopped any earlier suspicions, but started new ones.

"I have a question for you and your brother..." That was the first time Jeb had used my nickname... This should be good.

I flickered a look at Dylan then looked at Jeb, and Ari popped his head up just a bit.

"What would you think about moving to Arizona?" Jeb asked, not wasting a single second in saying this. Each word was like a staple in my back, and all I could do was stare. Slowly, I gathered myself again and tried to keep my cool.

"What do you...mean by that?" I took a deep gulp. I felt Dylan freeze up next to me.

"Well, your mother and I have been thinking about moving to Arizona." Jeb replied. Now I know why Annie hovered in the doorway. Anne must have just told her she was going to be let go.

"Where's dat?" Ari asked with widened eyes.

"Oh, well its really a wonderf-"

"A place that you _don't_ want to live." I said coldly. But did Jeb get the picture? Nope.

"Maximum, it really is a beautiful place, and I think that if you give it a chance-"

"I _don't_ want to hear it!" I hadn't realized my voice was getting a bit louder. "There's no way I'm moving away from here! A vacation? Fine. But living there? No way in a million years! If this is your idea of a joke, it isn't in the least bit _funny_!" I yelled. I clenched my hands around the handle of my fork and knife, I was really tempted to throw the knife at the wall but resisted, just so I didn't scare Ari. The last thing I needed to hear was Ari crying and Jeb saying "Now look at what you've done, Maximum!" I'd lose my cool.

I grabbed Dylan by the wrist and stomped out the front door without another word.

**Dylan's POV:**

We went out the front door and started walking down the side of the street in the direction of the beach. I didn't realize how strong Max actually was... I mean, I'd seen her muscles before, but her grip on my wrist felt like it was going to stop my pulse. We started trudging through the sand until I couldn't handle her grip anymore and came to a sudden halt.

"Okay, hold on. Let's talk." I said quickly as I pulled (with much effort) her hand off my wrist. She turned around with a half-ticked, half-crying expression on her face. We sat down on soft patch of sand and stayed like that for a couple minutes. I'd have to break the silence sooner or later, right?

"So...moving to Arizona, huh? That's pretty big." Really, really, big, really, really sudden too.

"I'm _not_ moving to Arizona."

"Yeah. I really don't want you to...and J.J. She wouldn't want you to. Definitely." I stated. How else was I going to tell the girl I loved that I didn't want her to leave my life without actually telling her I loved her? I'm really not good with this kinda of thing...

"There's still so many places I want to see with you..." I said wistfully.

Max tilted her head up a bit with a crooked smile on her face to meet my eyes... Oh snap. What did I just say?

"Haha... and J.J., too, right?" she said with a bit of a chuckle, then placing her head back down, staring at her hands.

An awkward silence is just what I needed tonight. An awkward silence with _Max_. When had that ever happened before? Never.

"Um... well, actually, no. Just... you."

Her head popped up on that instant, clearing the hair from her face, and her beautiful eyes gazed into mine. She had an incredibly surprised expression on her face.

"What do you mean?" she said uncertainly. "Hah, I mean sure, sometimes J.J. can be kind of annoying, but that's why she's great, right?"

"No-no... that's not what I meant..." Crap! How do I say this? I can't do this. No way. I can tell her I was just joking. And that of course J.J. would be with us. Right. That's what I'll do. Perfect. She won't expect anything at all.

A cold breeze swept by us, sending her hair flying, and creating a halo around her perfect angel face. I open my mouth to tell her that I was just kidding, but, instead of the lie came the truth.

"Max, I love you."

**Hey sorry for that cliffy but, too bad. A good story needs suspense! We're working on Chapter 3 now so that will hopefully be up in a few days. Thanks for reading, you rock!**

**Fly on,**

**NarutoLover7890 and Mx2Blue326**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there!**

**Mx2Blue326 here. Sorry to disappoint all you Japanese-loving fans out there but it's my turn to write the authors note. I guess we'll just keep switching off between chapters, so I hope you're all okay with that. :) So anyway last time we kinda cut it off right at a really juicy part! Lame, yes, but how else are we going to keep you guys awake? Haha. So today the story goes on - keep reading to find out what happens next. (BTW: We're going to try something new and make the majority of the chapter in Dylan's POV. Wish us luck!)**

**Oh wait! One sec. Hold your horses and don't scroll down to the chapter yet. Only one more little thing I promise. On behalf of NarutoLover7890 and myself, I want to thank each and everyone of you who have either put our story on your "alert list" or "favorites list" or left us a fabulous review! You guys are amazing and the reason we keep writing this story! We love hearing your feedback and love the incentive to keep writing - it keeps me especially eager to try my hardest to type up a new chapter and post it for you guys! So... YOU'RE THE BEST! Thanks okay, now you can go back to reading. :)**

**Disclaimer****: Do we look like James Patterson? No? Good. Keep reading. If you said "yes", Max will personally come and kick your butt. Thank y'all! (AKA all rights go to James Patterson).**

**And we're off!**

**Chapter 3:**

Flashback (**A/N refresher; w/e you want to call it - just to refresh your memory)**:

_**Dylan's POV**_

_A cold breeze swept by us, sending her hair flying, and creating a halo around her perfect angel face. I open my mouth to tell her that I was just kidding, but, instead of the lie came the truth._

"_Max, I love you." _

**Max's POV**

I look up and search Dylan's face. His face is none-too-discreetly turned away. I can see the tip of his ear is bright, bright red. It's something I figured out fairly quickly. Whenever Dylan is embarrassed or angry his cheeks flush and his ears turn maraschino cherry red. I reach over and place my hand on his arm. Slowly, he turns his face to meet mine. His eyes are tender and filled with something else I can't place. Hope? I ignore this and wrap my arms around his neck and pull myself closer.

"I love you too." I say, my voice a little higher than usual in surprise. My heart, warm with gratitude towards this boy who has always been there for me ever since the 2nd grade. I couldn't have asked for a better guy-friend!

"You do?" He pulls away and surprise and wonder light up his face. His broad lips break into a dazzling smile.

"Of course, I do! How can I not? You such an amazing guy, Dylan. I'm so glad I was paired up with you in 2nd grade. Remember? I was supposed to lead you around school on your first day?" I exclaim not wanting to hold back the flood of emotion I feel toward our deep friendship.

"Uh... yeah." Now he just sounds plain confused. His brows knit together as if he's trying to figure out a difficult math problem.

"You and J.J. are the best! I love you guys so much, you're like practically the brother and sister I never had, well besides Ari, but he's so young! I'm sure J.J. will let me stay at her place while my father, Anne, and Ari move to Arizona." I prattle on, half my mind already far away trying to figure out if J.J.'s room would be able to hold another twin bed. Hmm... maybe if we moved all her bookshelves (filled with those Manga books she's obsessed with) and the bean bag chairs!

**Dylan's POV:**

Hurt, anger, and resentment coursed through me.

"_How could I have been so stupid! This is Max we're talking about. Why did I even have the slightest inclination that she might actually be in love with me? What was worse was that she thought I meant that I loved her, like a brother or a cousin or something, not that I was _in _love with her."_

These bitter thoughts sprint their way across my mind. Part of me is relieved. Our friendship isn't messed up. Things aren't awkward (kinda), they will go back to the way they're used to (maybe), everything will be okay (possibly).

"_NO! Everything will not be okay! You just poured our your heart and soul to this girl and she totally took it the wrong way,"_ another voice in my head chimed in, oh so cheerfully.

"_No, not heart and soul. He just admitted the pent up feelings for this girl in the totally wrong way!" _Wow, even the voices in my head don't like me. Sheesh!

"Dylan? Dylan? Earth to Dylan!" Max says smiling, waving her hand in front of my face.

"Oh... yeah what's up? Sorry, I zoned out." Yep, that's a good way to smooth things over. Pretend nothing unusual happened.

"I was just explaining to you that I sadly don't think that Jeb will let me back out of this one. Maybe if I go along with him he'll buy me a car when I get my permit." Max says dejectedly.

"Uh, yeah. I'm seriously going to miss you." Wow, way to "smooth things over". I'm such an idiot.

"I know right? If he does not let you guys visit I will kill him!" Max exclaims.

"You know you better get back if you ever want to see that car and permit." I say. I need to get away. This has been too much.

"Uh, yeah I guess I should go." She sounded slightly confused. I got up brushed the sand from my jeans and headed back up to the sidewalk. I heard Max get up behind me and dust herself off. Her light footsteps echoed behind mine. She may be fast, but now that I've grown I have really long legs. I know it took her a big effort to try and keep up with my long strides.

I paused as I reached a fork in the street. I almost thought of leaving her there and turning to the left, in the direction of my house, but I didn't want her to be left alone in the dark. You never knew what was lurking in darkened alleyways. LA may be sunny during the day, but it becomes another world at night.

"Well, I'll see you around..." I said awkwardly as we reached her doorstep.

"Yeah, totally." She said back, and turned to the doorway. Do I think she even reconsidered and turned back towards me? I don't know, I didn't look back.

I don't think this night could have been any worse.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

"NO! MAAXX!" J.J. was screaming, almost right into my ear. "You can't leave me alone with HIM!" she yelled, pointing at Dylan.

"What's so wrong about Dylan?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

"Well, nothing is actually _wrong_ with him, it's just that he's a guy."

"Well, you two can become the greatest girl-guy friendship out there." I sighed as I slowly lifted my duffel bag onto my back.

"Oh, here. Lemme help you with that." Dylan said as he grabbed it from my hands and swung it over his right shoulder. He seemed to have recovered from his lapse at the beach the other night. No use pondering it now. I was about to fly right into my personal hell. A life without them. I would be plenty busy trying to get Jeb to move us back here.

"Oh, thanks." I smiled and lifted up the handle to my suitcase. Wow, I would miss them them like nothing else in the world... I just couldn't stand the thought of a new school, new people, new house, new EVERYTHING. But was this my fault? Nope. Was it Jeb's? Bulls eye.

*ooOoo*

"Next!" One of the flight attendants from the desk called over to us. Her blond hair was pulled back in a preppy pony tail and a full tooth fake smile beamed at us. I guess she thought it to be welcoming but she looked like one of those people right off a loony farm. Even better, one of those "Barbie as (insert occupation of your choice)". White tooth smile, perfect hair, and 100% FAKE. Wow, normally I don't actually notice other people, let alone give them a second look. This is really messing with my head! Ugh, she's still beaming. Giving J.J. and Dylan my final hugs goodbye, I grab Ari's hand and headed into the jet way. Ari and I were going to sit together on the plane, while Jeb and Anne could sit by themselves, in the dark corner of 'Max's To-Scream-At-Later-When-The-Chance-Arrives' seats behind us.

It was nicely air-conditioned and the seats were my favorite type of blue-navy, of course. With all the leg room from the first class seats that Jeb's secretary had likely nabbed for us, and my purple iPod, I would be all set for the flight to hell. As I glanced out the window, over Ari's feathery head, I saw the little lights. That would be LA get smaller and smaller before it disappeared entirely beneath the heavy blanket of clouds. I sat back and cranked the volume up.

This should be an interesting plane ride...

**Well, I hope your looking forward to some hilarious incidents happening on one flight. How many Max's does it take to screw up a plane ride? Oh, that's right - ONE! The only thing next chapter is going to be about is the flight on the plane, getting off the plane, and maybe meeting some new...neighbors, or classmates, or future BF's (EEEK!), not to give out too much! x]**

**Fly on!**

**Mx2Blue326 and NarutoLover7890**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! NarutoLover7890 here! Anyways, here's the chapter you have all been waiting for - Max meets someone... well a couple someones, and has the best/worst plane ride ever - scroll down, keep reading and YOU make the decision! BTW this is a super LOOOONG chapter so - have fun reading it!**

**Disclaimer**** - Do we still look like James Patterson clonies? No? Good! Then you understand we still don't own any of these characters! Awesome! You guys are so smart! Scroll down and...**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4:**

**Max's POV**

If you guys have ever been on a plane ride, sitting next to those really fat guys who sleep 84% of the time and snore SUPER loudly, all I can say is that I finally feel your pain. The only SLIGHT difference was that it was one of those skinny, muscularly fit girls, who SPEAKS 99% of the time, and has one of the loudest voices ever. Now, I know what you're thinking- "louder than J.J.'s?" And I have a definite answer for that. "Uh... hell ya!" Yes, really. Now do you feel MY pain? She had awesome mocha colored skin, long, dark brown, curly hair, and these HUGE milk chocolate brown eyes, surrounded by a fringe of heavy lashes. She was probably only a few years younger than me, and TOTALLY into fashion. When I say that, I'm talking magazines, books, people, brand names, bags, dresses, shoes, EVERYTHING. I knew about 10% of every single word she used in our conversation. (Though I don't know if I would call it a conversation, she did the talking and I just tried, some-what, to keep up. I mean, what else was I going to do? Ari was drawing a picture [he would not let me see until he was "done"] and frankly, I hate confined spaces - planes FREAK ME OUT!) As I was listening to her rant on and on, I made a "Handy-Dandy Max's List of the 10% of Things She Knows About Fashion" to keep myself from jumping off the plane and becoming a bug on the windshield of the world. (Who says I can't write poetry?) **(A/N: I know it was something like that - haha!)**

1) Shoes: Converse, Running shoes, -0.2 inch heals

2) Tops: T-Shirts, tanks, camisoles, long sleeved baggy shirts, and hoodies

3) Pants: Jeans, board shorts, shorts, and khakis [on nice occasions]

4) Dresses: A what?

5) Jewelry: The necklace Ari made for me - which consists of one of those old coke bottle tops strung on a chain made of those teeny-tiny little metal balls... like the military dog chain kinda things? Yeah, that, but waaay shorter.

6) Would I wear converse with a "dress" (whatever that is!)?

Yup.

7) Would I buy a fashion magazine?

They actually make a whole magazine for that kind of stuff?

And that's all I could come up with before Ari touched my arm and showed me his drawing. It was of Jeb, Anne, Me, and Ari.

"Aw, that's really great, Ari! Maybe you'll grow up to be an artist!" I laughed, and he just smiled brightly.

"So, what do you think?" Nudge 'whispered' across the little walkway between us.

"Hm? Well, I think that would look amazing on you, actually!" I said honesty as she showed me her sketch of a dress she was planning on wearing to her school dance - she'll never be unprepared for any dance I'll tell ya that. Coming from someone who knows nothing about fashion, I can still say that I was incredibly impressed by this girl's skill. She designed a dress that would be great on her, and only her. She lived in Arizona, had an older brother, and twins, one boy one girl. She explained to me how she and her older brother were adopted, but the twins weren't.

"His name is Nick, but everyone calls him Fang-" Nudge explained, talking about her older brother.

"Fang? What kind of name is that?" I asked skeptically.

"-And he's in the same grade as you. He has dark black raven hair, super tall, like me, and not all that talkative." Well, I guess it really didn't run in the family, huh? "But he reminds me a lot of you! I really want you to meet him when we land, okay?" She beamed brightly.

"Uh... Sure." Did I know anything about this girl? Barely. Did I just agree to meet her family as soon as we landed? You bet. Maybe Arizona won't be so bad... maybe.

"Well, I _really_ need to pee..." I said awkwardly as I undid my belt and stood up to make my way down the isle when the plane suddenly hit an air current. Can you guess what happened after that? I'm sure you have an idea.

That's right. I totally fell over, as I was about 5 or 6 isles away from the bathroom. Now let me ask all of you out there who're great with pop quizzes. My question is, "What type of person did I fall on top of? a) A business lady. b) A 15-year-old boy with a lot of acne. c) A fat man, asleep, and snoring SUPER loudly. d) None of the above. (Sorry folks this option "d" NEVER appears in MY life!)

Well, which one did you guess?

That's right! C.

I'm sure you would've never guessed that, right? Anyway, back to where I was...

I was on my way to the bathroom when I fell into the lap of a fat man who was completely asleep. All I can say, "OUCH!" My shoulder blade whacked the tray that was down, I hit my funny bone, and I'm sure that was my neck I heard crack. I stood right back up (in pain) to say "OH, GOD! I'M SO SORRY!" But did that moment ever come? No, the guy didn't even wake up! But what DID come was an extremely skinny lady with perfect legs and perfect skin walking over with her perfect plastic Barbie smile. Yup, you heard me. Walking towards _me._

"I'm sorry ma'am, but could I have a word with you?"

"Umm... You really don't need to call me 'ma'am.' And also, did I do something wrong?"

"Oh sweetie, I just need to ask you a few questions..." I looked at her with my "Are you kidding me?" expressions. "...For the safety of the passengers." She added quickly, never dropping her white-toothed smile for a second.

"Well, I just really need to pee..." I said whispered to her.

"Oh, this won't take long, dear." Okay, now I'm pissed. Ma'am, to sweetie, to dear. I don't do Ma'am, sweetie, OR dear!

"Well, could it just be fast? I _really_ gotta go." I was 75% acting because I didn't want to deal with this annoying lady, and 25% because I really actually needed to go.

"Well..." She looked around to the people sitting by us. Everyone was sleeping, or listening to music. "I guess so..."

"Okay, great, what do you need to ask me?"

"Well, may I ask what you were trying when you were on top of that man?" Yet again, my "What the-?" expression.

"You're asking me what I was '_trying?' _I said incredulously.

"You see, it's my job as your flight attendant to ask these questions."

"Well, _okay, _you see, I was actually trying to sexually harass that man..." I said with a smirk on my face. Just to see the expression on this lady's face would be enough for me.

"Excuse me?" She gasped.

"Hahaha! Gosh, I'm joking." I said laughing. I had a huge grin on my face. "Wow! You should've seen your face just then!" I smirked hysterically. "What really happened was I got up to pee..." Every time I say 'go' or 'pee' and I can see the slight frown on her face, but of course, it twitches right back into position two seconds later. "...And the plane hit an air current so I totally fell over on to this _poor man."_ I said completely joking. She was totally grimacing now. Ah, you had to be there. Her 'beautiful' blond hair was pulled back into a tight, perfect bun, and she had perfect posture that almost looked painful. She's really what you'd call "Flight Attendant Barbie ~ Limited Edition!" Her evil twin was back at LA Airport, at the front desk. Seriously? Do these people have any imagination? I guess their job interviews say "HELP WANTED: Must have 'pristine' platinum blond hair, A HUGE, fake, toothy, really annoying smile, and a huge ego to go with it. If interested please call 1-808-BARBIE'S-R-US!"

"May I please check your breath in the back room?" She said completely straight face. She wasn't serious, was she? She probably just didn't like me. I mean, Barbies only like other Barbies... or Ken, right? I'm neither, so she had every right to hate my guts. SCOFF. I give a slight smirk.

"Is there something you find funny, miss?" Okay. Now I'm really pissed. As J.J. would call it, something along the lines of "Urusai! Hounto ni mukatsuku!". (It sounds waaay cooler in Japanese!) Ma'am to sweetie to dear, and now to miss. That's as far as she'd go.

"Look, I really need to pee... So I can do the whole 'breath testing' thing as long as it's short." So, she led me to the back room, pulled out some weird device, and looked at the screen.

"You're clear." She sighed, almost disappointed.

"See? I told ya! Now if you'll _excuse me... _I really need to take a piss." I kept a straight face through this whole thing. I hope you're proud of me. That took a lot of effort, because when I said 'piss,' her face looked like it was about to explode! It was GREAT! I walked off naturally, laughing under my breath.

*ooOoo*

Finally I get to the stinking bathroom. I turn off my iPod and take the one earphone out of my ear. (I had to take other out so I could listen to Nudge talk my other ear, off.) I'm just about to put the seat cover down when I lose hold of my iPod and...

"Welcome to Max's Bonus Question of the Evening Sweepstakes! Step right up, your lucky contestant number #33."

"Come on up, don't be shy! Please answer the following Trivia question, for the whole jackpot. Ready? Let's begin."

"Did Max: a) drop her iPod on the floor, b) drop it, but used her awesome ninja reflexes and catch it before it hit anything, c) didn't actually drop it (Yeah, right!), or d) drop it down the toilet? You have 30 seconds to choose your answer. Tick, tock, tick tock... time is running out."

"You picked "d) drop it down the toilet?" are you sure this is your final answer?"

"Yes? ...CORRECT! You just won the Max Bonus Question of the Evening Sweepstakes! The jackpot is, the hilarious LIVE video of "Max Dropping Her iPod Down the Airplane's Toilet!"

Okay, no need to panic. I just dropped my $200.00 iPod down the toilet. No big. Okay normally I'm not squeamish, but EW! And what didn't help, the person before me didn't flush the darn thing! How convenient! CRAP! It was probably that big, slobbering, snoring, fat man that had it in for me this whole time! He used the toilet, left a gift for me inside, knew I was going to need to use it and then drop my iPod into it, then slept soundly because he had succeeded in making my life just a little more inconvenient than it really needed to be!

The plane hit some more turbulence and I fell forward, losing my footing. I grasp at anything to keep me upright and end up jamming my elbow (the same one I hit on the tray, thank you very much) right into the big blue button called, wait for it, "FLUSH". And that is the story of how my iPod got swallowed by an airplane's mini, smelly, lavatory. THE END! Hope you enjoyed the show. NOT!

I wash my hands, let out a few good curses, and open the sliding door. No hope of ever seeing my beautiful iPod again. (Please take a few moments of silence to honor that long abiding, faithful friend.) And step right into my favorite person in the world! Mrs. Platinum, Blond-headed, Fake smile, Plastic Barbie Doll of a Flight Attendant. Life couldn't get any better, could it?

"I have been asked to make sure that everyone is safely buckled into their seats. So please return to your seat and stay seated until the captain has un-illuminated the 'fasten seat belt sign'." Wow, they even make it sound like a prison in here.

"Uhh... your bathroom just swallowed up my iPod!" I exclaim angrily!

"I'm sorry Miss, I beg your pardon?" She asks in that little "innocent" little voice of hers.

"I said, my iPod fell into your stupid little toilet and got flushed down its stupid gullet!" (I tend to use the word 'stupid' a lot when I get really annoyed.)

"Oh, that's a good one! No one has ever used that one before! But you see that is simply not possible. Our planes are specially made so that only human waste can go through the little holes on the bottom. It is far too small to be able to take in any iPods. But please go back to your seat and put your seatbelt on." She says, with a bright smile on her, pretty little face. Why I outta... Breath Max, you can do this.

"Yes, well your oh-so-perfect little toilet DID swallow up my iPod, but that's okay. 'Cuz I'm a freakin angel! I will return to my seat and not do anything that I'll regret later!" I spin on my heel and stalk my way off to my seat.

"Smirking and frown lines build up after time. You could get permanent wrinkles if you keep doing that you know." Nudge says, oh-so-cheerfully to me as I sit down and buckle my seat belt. I thought my day was complete back when I was doing a face-plant into a guys lap, obviously not!

"Yeah, well, let me say this once, and only once, I DON'T CARE!" My voice rising with each word. I sit back and sulk. Nudge looks kinda put out for a second then brightens in a second.

"You know what you need?"

"What?" I spit out between my clenched teeth.

"A makeover! That will totally help! You know how feng-shui helps clear up a room; I know it will totally help you too! You need a new look. I mean, your braid is pretty, but do you even have you heard of side-bangs? And your eyebrows, with just a little help I could totally transform your face. You have beautiful colored hair and eyes, with a little makeup -"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down there Nelly. Makeup? ME? You have GOT to be kidding! I don't do makeup. Never have, never will!"

"Never say never Max! There's a first time for everything and I will help you reach your full potential!" Nudge pipes up, eyes gleaming. Woah, she's officially possessed.

"Uh, hate to break it to you sweetheart, (What? Just because I don't like being called 'sweetheart' doesn't mean that I don't use it on others.) But what makes you think that I'll even be seeing you again after this plane ride?" I exclaim.

"Uh... our principal announced you and your brother's arrival in last weeks newsletter. It's just a co-inky-dink that I got to meet you on the plane! He still sends them during the summer to keep us updated and ready for the new school year. We even start early! August 26th! School ends on June 1st. " Nudge says almost pityingly. Oh God. (Please kill me now! - Not really overzealous readers!) **(A/N: Remember that one?)**

"Seriously, like everyone... knows I'm going to be there?" Someone must have it in for me up there. Really bad!

"Yeah, they do that every year. It's so cool that our school goes all the way from Kindergarten to 12th! It's so awesome! You get to mingle with everyone! So I'll definitely see you around!" Nudge says happily.

"Fabulous." I manage to get out. The pilot asks the flight attendants to prepare for landing. Finally, I'll get out of this death trap!

*ooOoo*

I felt the plane hit the ground and start to slow down on the tracks. As people slowly get up from their seats and grab their luggage out from the overhead bins, Ari and I sit quietly with Nudge until the plane's at a complete stop. I'm not risking another face plant from my horrible balance on a plane for a long time...

"Hey! I bet Fang and my family will be waiting for me at the luggage claim! Why don't you and your family come and meet mine? That would be totally fun-tastic!" She said a little too joyfully.

"Uhh... Sure." I turn around in my seat (for the first time in the past few hours) to talk to Jeb. " Could we met Nudge's family at the luggage claim after this?"

"Sure, I don't see why not." He said, not looking up from his Blackberry, totally unaffected by my cold tone with him. It's not like I wanted to be here not to mention that I was making big pleading eyes with him so that he could come up with an excuse so I would NOT have to meet Nudge's family. Seriously, I admit, I could live without meeting the people who live with this 24/7 talking machine! They probably talk more than her!

"'Kay, great." I say through gritted teeth, got up, grabbed Ari's hand and we all headed on our merry way to the baggage claim.

"Nudge!" I heard a woman's voice yell, fabulous her mother's loud too. And God, it was freezing. Whoever was turning the temperature down 1 degree every second should stop. Like, NOW. I pulled on my sweater and followed Nudge to her family. I pretended it felt as if we were going to meet Dylan and J.J., quickly pasted on a 'Max's-Fake-But-Looks-Real' smile, and walked happily over to greet Mrs... Oh jeez, I don't even know this girl's last name and I'm meeting her whole family. Not. Weird. At. All.

"This must be Max!" The tall lady with super fair skin said as she hugged me as if I was her own. SHE FREAKIN KNOWS MY NAME? When did Nudge have any time to call or anything? We've been in a freakin plane all day!

"Oh. Uh... Hi! It's nice to meet you!" I said startled. I've never been hugged by someone I just met like that. These Arizona people are really interesting...

"My name is Alice, but you can call me Auntie Alice." Do I know her last name yet? Nope. I still wonder how she knew my name, though...

"Oh, Nudge was texting mommy during the plane ride." As if someone was reading my mind. A sweet innocent voice piped up, who came from behind "Aunty" Alice, grasping the long, lime green dress that her mother was wearing. She had the cutest blond curls, hitting her shoulders with a thin pink headband to go across her head. Love at first sight? Not exactly. But, close. She wore a poufy white dress with some pink flowers on it. Sandals to match.

"Oh, and this is Angel." She said, then pointing to who I guessed was Angel's twin brother. "And that's Gazzy." I'll ask how he got that name a little bit later. Like, when we're practically family, you know? _Right._

Jeb, Anne, and Ari were talking with "Aunty" Alice about school and the neighborhood I was guessing, and I was standing with Nudge for about two seconds until Jeb had spotted my suitcase on the conveyor belt.

"Maximum, is that you're bag?" I didn't even bother to turn around. I just rolled my eyes; because _of course_ it was my suitcase. One thing about Jeb-he's always right. With facts, at least. My bag was the ONLY brown, splattered with green designed suitcase in the world, and yet, Jeb still had to ask if it was mine. Wow. I spun on my heel to go grab it. The conveyor belt was about 10 feet away from my back so I was planning on going to grab it in about two seconds, and be back. I spun quickly on my right foot and then pushed off of the ground to run over, when I slammed my face into a black rock. Or, what I thought was a black rock at the time. Turned out it was a 6' 3" teenager, wearing a black T-shirt, black skinny jeans, long, layered, black hair, and black converse... who probably worked out. And what was he holding? My suitcase, _of course._

"Fang! I'm back!" Nudge said as she turned her head around quickly to see what I had gotten myself into. Fang? This is 'Fang?' Wow, she wasn't joking about how it's like he can appear and disappear when he wants to.

"Ouch..." I cursed under my breath as I rubbed my nose. "Uh, thanks for getting my suitcase for me, but how did you-?" I was cut off with my neck throbbing in pain. Yeah, I'm guessing you were all waiting for me to say 'I wasn't able to finish my sentence because a stared into his eyes...' or something like 'I love tall, strong, hot guys.' Something stupid like that, right? You got it all wrong. It was _because_ he was so tall that I was pissed. I had to look so far up that my neck cracked, and W-O-W. That hurt like {insert swear word of your choice here}!

He stared down at me with a weird expression on his face. The type of expression you'd give someone when they gave you a really weird riddle. Not hard, weird. With his eyes looking to the right, and his mouth in a somewhat of a pouting and pondering way.

"Uh, sorry, this is my suitcase. Well, I let Nudge use it for her trip alone." He explained. Wait... he has the same suitcase as me? How is that possible?

"Thanks Fang!" Nudge yelled and gave him a big hug. He put his arms around her, barely even touching her back and let her do the 'hug' part of 'hugging.' What a heartwarming brother...

"Wait... so that's not my suitcase? Then where is mine?" I sighed. I didn't like waiting in this air-conditioned lobby-looking area.

"Here, I'll help you find it. Let's wait by the conveyor belt, 'Kay?" Fang said kindly. Yeah, he better help me find mine... payback for whacking me in the face.

"Uh, sure..." We walked over to wear all the luggage from our flight was passing by us. This'll take some time. How troublesome!

"So, you must be Max, right? I'm Fang if you didn't figure it out already." He sighed, as if he didn't want to be here. Hey, he was the one who offered and punched me in the nose. Kind of. Is he implying that I'm slow? He just met me and he thinks that I wouldn't have caught on that his name is Fang? What a butthead!

"Yeah, I'm Max but I think everyone in the whole state of Arizona knows that by now. I met Nudge 'cause she sat next to me on our flight."

"I guessed as much. My mom couldn't stop talking about you. Nudge kept texting her saying how great and pretty you are..." I saw his face turn slightly pinker and his bangs falling in front of his eyes. "I mean, that's what Nudge kept saying, you know?" From his tone, he didn't sound disappointed, just... reluctant.

"Oh. Cool. But I'm really not that great. Anyway, we'll be in the same grade right? What's the school like?" Small talk=not my thing.

"Normal." Thanks for the descriptive answer, buddy. I had to laugh at that - it sounded exactly like the kind of answer I would give someone I had just met.

"Oh. That's good... What's the cafeteria food like?" I questioned. I honestly wanted to know. I mean, I eat a lot! If I don't get fed the proper amount of food, I get REALLY cranky. You have no idea...

And that's when I heard Fang snicker under his breath. Did he seriously just laugh at me? Nudge told me that he doesn't laugh all that much. Or speak for that matter.

"Did you just laugh?" I said skeptically. He looked up with a huge grin on his face, brushing his long bangs out of his face in one swift movement. Wow, he had nice teeth, and a stunning smile to go along with it. It seemed to light up the whole room. He started laughing hysterically, clutching his stomach. I stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"It's... just that... of all the things to... ask me... about... you ask me... about the... lunch food!" He breathed in each pause. Wow, I didn't know a guy that 'didn't laugh' could laugh like this. I didn't realize till later, but a huge grin spread across my face that second. I punched him in the shoulder and started laughing myself!

"You can't be serious!" I smiled. By that time, Fang's family and my family had turned their heads to see what was happening. All I remember was how wide-eyed Fang's family was. As for my family, I think they were just glad I could smile after landing in Arizona. Slowly, Fang and I stopped laughing and calmed down. He looked back at the conveyor belt and grabbed a suitcase from it-mine.

"Ah! Thanks!" I smiled. I had a feeling the Arizona life might be a little more interesting than I had pictured it.

"You're so different from all the girls at my school. You're a really... interesting person..." I just smirked.

"My family has outdoor B-B-Q's a lot, your family should come over sometime." His stunning smile had faded, and his bangs were put back into position, but he still had a slight grin on his face.

At least I know that he doesn't hate me, right? Woah! Where did that come from? _"He doesn't hate me?"_ I don't think I have ever cared about what someone had thought of me before. Weird. I still had my smirk on my face as I said,

"Sure. I'll see you then."

**YAY! So she has finally met Fang. Do you love it, hate it? Hope you weren't too disappointed. FAX will come, we promise. Just be patient. We need them to become friends first - we aren't going to be one of those stories that just go "They meet, 20 words later they kiss, and that's only been 2 chapters. Now what?" (Don't deny it - you've read a good number of those on here.) Yeah, we hope to continue this story for a while. So please keep on reading and checking up on it. We're doing our best! AND...**

****Remember: though reviews are appreciated and nice to hear. We really don't care if we ever reach 100 or 200 or w/e. We just hope you enjoyed our story and you keep on reading. If we do our jobs right, the reviews will come without asking, or threatening in some cases. (You must have read those too right? I'll post the next chapter if I get 10 new reviews by next time? Yeah. Though so, anyway - off topic.) But, see you next time!****

**Fly on!**

**NarutoLover7890 and Mx2Blue326**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Mx2Blue326 here again. Thank you so much for your reviews and adding our story to your Alert Lists or Favorites! That means SO much to us - with each chapter I keep receiving e-mail notices that more people are doing this - you make us feel so special! :) Also sorry this took so LONG to get up... been sick and loaded with homework and afterschool activities! Please accept my deepest apologies!**

****An answer to MANG: No, not that I know of, though I do know of a few other books that do use that line. :) But my dear fellow co-author, NarutoLover7890, she wrote that, the "other Max" to this story. So, though it may sound like the original "Max" speaking... no I don't think so. (Just shows how good NarutoLover7890 is, yah?) But kudos for being the first to ask a question - we'll be happy to answer them for you. Suggestions are welcome too, we may not use them or may use them later but, just be patient (if you have one just leave a comment). :) Thanks.**

**Disclaimer****: Even though NarutoLover7890 came up with that Oh-so-much-like-Max line, I'm sorry to say that, no, we are not the voice of the original Max (AKA James Patterson for those you who have been living under a rock this whole time). So with that... She just met Fang, so... let's see what's in store for our borrowed characters next! :)**

**Chapter 5:**

**Max's POV**

The movers pulled up in the front of our new house. The house was big compared to the other houses we've seen in Arizona on our drive here, but a lot smaller than our mansion back in LA. Our house in LA was huge, four floors with three surrounding acres. Our house here is only three stories and rests on about one and a half acres. It would have been considered a normal house in our neighborhood in LA. At least we have a pool. It's awesome! It's on top of the four-car garage on the second floor balcony with a nice view of the mountains (at least from what I saw in the pictures, and yes, I did in fact look at the house, I mean if I gotta live here might as well make sure I'm living in a NICE prison). There's a diving board and slide from the previous family living in it. The pool is blue tiled with tile designs of turtles and other sea life all over the bottom. The Jacuzzi can be hooked up to our iPods (well, would have been if mine wasn't lying in the belly of a plane's waste compartment right now. I'm so making Jeb buy me a new one.), has powerful jets for bubbles and massages, and can the lights change colors! How cool is that? It was a great find that we found at such last minute. The roof is black with large tiles (on the top floor are solar panels) and the walls are off-white. Lots of windows for a great view. Along the side of the house I can see a balcony. On one corner something catches my eye, almost a hexagon shape with all around windows; _that_ I need to check out! There are a few palm trees in the front yard.

As soon as the car stopped, Ari dashed out to go explore the yard. He wanted a dog so badly, and Jeb and Anne said they would think about it. Though the pool and other bells and whistles were cool, I had a much more important thing to do. Can you guess? Well... Choose my room, of course! (Well don't judge me to harshly - I'm just a normal teenager, right?). So I go up the front steps to the double doors. They are kind of that white filmy glass panels, you know? Anyway, I go inside and step into a wide white hall. To the left is a nice white staircase with a slim black railing. That must lead to the bedrooms. I ignore the wide expanse of living room or the other doors probably leading to a den and kitchen and make my way up the staircase. When I get to the landing, I look around. If I turned again I would be able to go up the stairs to probably the third floor. Not me, I'm going to scout the bedrooms. There was supposed to be six rooms in the original blueprints but the contractor guy screwed up and now there are two normal sized bedrooms and one master room on the second floor. The third floor is supposedly "a complete failure and the reason why no one else wanted the house". Right in front of me are two doorways, when I peek in I can tell that this will be Ari's room and the guest room. I walk to the left and peek in the doorway of what I think is the master bedroom. The room is spacious and pristine. Through another doorway I see double everything, separated by a wall running through the middle of the floor in the huge bathroom. Him and her, showers, tubs, sinks, toilets, you name it. I hated it; there was no character at all. But then again they know I'll love it. Through sliding glass doors I see the balcony I saw from the window of the car. After a quick look around, I know that I'm heading upstairs again, so much for finding a bedroom. As I remount the stairs and then turn the final corner to the third floor I see an open space to the left. There's no wall just an open expanse of room (about the size of one of the regular rooms downstairs) a step down from the level of the hallway. There are windows all along the wall. This obviously could not be a bedroom - too many open windows. One 'screw up'. I go down the hall and see two doorways. The leftover rooms, lets see what I have to work with. Those two must be over the two bedrooms on the second floor. The first door way shows a room the size of the two normal rooms down stairs. Not all that interesting. I keep going down the hall to the room over the master bedroom. I take a deep breath and step inside.

Is this real? I keep asking myself. Nothing else in this house exists. Just this room. Right in front of me there is another big expanse of room - not quite as big as the master room downstairs but large enough. In the left side of the room there are sliding glass doors that lead to a balcony overlooking the backyard and the pool. To the right of that in the northwest corner of the room there is a step up to the hexagon outcropping I also saw from the car window. It's beautiful. Through a door on the right side of the room, there is a bathroom. Not as big as the master room under it but big enough to fit a shower, tub, toilet, and sink. I love it. The shower has full glass panels for sides and the tub is huge - like it's own Jacuzzi. Attached taking up the extra space where the "double" stuffs would be from the master room underneath is a walk in closet. Shelf after shelf for what ever (shoes?) and then the other half of it has a rail for hanging clothes. A shelf is above it for storage. Okay, I don't need all this space but so what? I return to the bedroom and know this is it, my room. I found it! I run back downstairs and find Jeb and Anne, who are talking to the movers.

"Hey! Since you guys are taking the master bedroom and letting Ari have one of the normal rooms on the second floor with you guys can I please take the room on the third floor?" I say in one breath. I take a deep on now to fill up my empty lungs.

"I don't see why not. Jeb, honey, you can use one of the rooms on the first floor for your office. The den possibly?" Anne says.

"Yes, that will work out fine. Though Max, you know the third floor is not supposed to look very nice?" Jeb asks.

"No! I love it. Don't change it at all! But are you going to use any other room on the third floor?" I say rapidly.

"No, nothing. You can do what you want with it. If we need to move something later on, we can deal with that when it comes." Jeb said.

"Thank you!" I say and turn to run back to the house, but then turn back once, hesitate, and run to Jeb and give him a peck on the cheek. Then I turn and run in the house. I have my own room, heck, I have my own floor! YES! Now if only the movers can start putting my stuff in it...

*ooOoo*

Today is the first day of 'school'. Yippee. It's not that cold here even though it's well into the fall. That's one good thing about Arizona, oh gosh... I actually said something was _good_ here, but it's true. It's still not too cold. Even though it's kinda warm, I still put on a pair of jeans and a quarter sleeve red top. It's one of the nicer things I own. Buttons start about a third of the way up. I leave a few buttons unbuttoned (teenager - remember), but put a white cami underneath. There is no way I want to give any guys at our school the wrong impression. Paired with my normal braid and my old black converse, I'm ready for my first day at school. I'm running late, as usual, so I scarf down a granola bar and take a few sips of milk from the carton (okay all you sissy's out there, for the last time, TEENAGER remember?). **(A/N: It was something like that lol... Except not milk... more like 'desert rat or thumper'!)** After brushing my teeth I'm out the door in all but five minutes. I don't have to worry about Ari this morning because Anne and Jeb are going to drive him to his first day of kindergarten. Doesn't every parent do this? Our house isn't too far from the school and I already know where it is because we passed it on the drive to our house. It's like a 10-minute walk. Thanks to my hasty breakfast, I'm now on time. As I'm about half the way to school I hear a bright, oddly familiar, chirpy voice call out from behind me.

"ZOMG! HI MAX! I NEVER KNEW YOU WALKED TO SCHOOL! OR THAT YOU LIVE LIKE NEAR OUR HOUSE! ZOMG! ZOMG! THIS IS SOOO AWESOME! ISN'T IT? THAT SHIRT IS TOTALLY CUTE ON YOU - YOU LOOK GREAT... BUT YOU HAVE LIKE NO MAKEU-" I turn just in time to see Nudge's speech get cut off by an amused looking Fang. They were both standing on the sidewalk making their way towards me. How long were they there for?

"Uh... thanks... I think. And yeah, I didn't know you lived near the school too." I say in reply. Nudge's mouth is released from Fang's hand and begins to speak again.

"Yep, no problem! It's simple, but looks nice you know?" Nudge says, completely ignoring my comment about the location of her house and going straight to the subject of _obvious_ importance - my clothing.

"We live a few streets down that way. We come this way because it's faster. Our parents wanted to drive the twins down to the school. It's their first day of kindergarten." Fang says pointing down the street I was just about to cross. See every parent specially takes their kindergartners to school. Wow... it's like he read my mind.

"Oh, that explains it." I say before I can stop myself.

"Explain what? The fact that we kinda just appeared behind you?" Nudge pipes up, not wanting to be excluded from our conversation.

"Errrr... yeah." I say awkwardly. "But my dad and Anne took Ari to his first day at the kindergarten too." We continue down the street towards the school.

"Oh that's cool. We're almost at school." Fang says.

"Will you come and meet my friends, Max?" Nudge asks, her eyes bright with excitement.

"Uhhh..." is all I get out before Fang interrupts.

"Nudge, I don't think she wants to go with you to the middle school. She has to get her schedule and locker assignment. You can take her to meet Ella later. Okay?" Fang says to placate her.

"Okay fine, but you'll meet them right, Max? Promise?" Nudge begs.

"Sure." I say. Please let this Ella person NOT be as talkative as Nudge. I am getting used to Nudge but two of them may be a bit much. We cross the last street and make our way up the walk to the school. There is pristine green grass and I can see many tan colored buildings across the campus. Behind the school I see some goal posts sticking up. I guess we have a track. That's cool - I'll be checking that out later. Nudge says her goodbyes and goes in the direction of the buildings with the green colored roofs. I guess that's the middle school. Across the huge parking lot I see a bunch of smaller buildings with red colored roofs. Parents and little kids were piling into the rooms. Those must be the elementary classrooms. The bigger high school buildings have blue tiled roofs. Fang motions for me to follow him and starts walking towards the high school. I take a deep breath and follow him into my first day of 10th grade.

**I am sooo tired! But I'm glad I got to finish this chapter. I know it's long and kind of a filler but, oh well. Next chapter will be better, I promise. And it will be put up waaay quicker (*cough... hopefully). Some new characters and more of Fang. :) See you next time!**

**Fly on!**

**Mx2Blue326 and NarutoLover7890**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, it's NarutoLover7890! Thank you SO much for the great comments you're leaving us! However, I must be honest: I barely worked on last chapter, and did a half-assed job on this chapter, so basically all credit should go to Mx2Blue326! WHOOT WHOOT! :) **_**(No, not really - this is Mx2Blue326 editing!)**_** I'll be pushing myself to do better on the upcoming chapters, so expect great things! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Lots more Max humor, and oh, the NORMAL school day. But then again... what exactly is normal?**

**Disclaimer****: Okay, once again: Does James Patterson look like two girls with dark brown hair and brown eyes? No, didn't think so. ON WITH THE STORY!**

**Chapter 6**

**Max's POV**

I follow Fang to the office. He weaves his way expertly through the crowd. By all the guys that are doing that head nod thing they think is cool and the bashful smiles from the girls, I can tell that this guy is one of _those_ guys. Popular, loaded with friends and wanna be dates, never alone on weekends. In a way he reminds me of Dylan. My personal best guy-friend. Always there for me, getting my back, the All-American guy who makes friends so easily... I should call him soon. A pang enters my chest as I think of JJ and Dylan and how they are at their first days of school too... Hmm... wonder what lame joke Mr. Daimler is trying out in our class assembly. He does it every year! And he always wears those horrible ties... you know the type. I'm pulled out of my daydreams as Fang announces,

"We're here." He pulls open the door to one of the buildings and motions with his hand to enter. He follows me in and pulls the door closed. Cool air conditioning waves over me, yep, glad I wore jeans today.

"Oh, I think I got it, but uhh... thanks. For bringing me here." I say awkwardly. I just stare back at him, trying to figure him out. Why was he helping me, the newbie? Everyone knows new kids gotta earn their own rep. And if you're caught with the wrong people, especially new people, it might just be social suicide. It just leaves me puzzled. I automatically tilt my head to one side and just look at him.

"No problem." He says raising his eyebrow at my expression, probably thinking that I'm demented. Fabulous. I just stare back at him still trying to figure him out. It finally dawns on me, what's off about it all. He's actually _good_. He's one of those rare guys who are nice, and respect other people. Hmmm... maybe if the people around here are this good, I might actually like it here. Dang, I can't believe I just said that. The air conditioning must be getting to me... wow what a lame excuse.

"Aren't you gonna be like, late to class or something?" I ask. It sounded more accusing than I intended. I'm horrible at small talk and it was the first thing that popped into my head. Plus, didn't he get that I wasn't some lame damsel is distress? I can take care of myself.

"No, it's only 7:40. We don't have to be in advisory until 8:00." He replies. Oh right, duh! I knew that. I'm mentally slapping myself when the secretary walks in. I was so caught up with Fang that I didn't even realize that we were standing in an empty room except for just a few chairs, a potted palm in the corner, and a desk.

"Maximum Batchelder?" The pretty Asian secretary asks. She reminds me a little of J.J., *sigh.

"Um... Ride. Maximum Ride." I correct her. I can't help but give a little cough, Fang's staring at me again.

"Ah, of course, what an interesting name. I just saw that your father's name was Batchelder and assumed." She says with a smile. Gosh, is everyone in this town THAT happy, ALL the time?

"Mhm. People make that mistake all the time. It's fine." I say, giving her a flash of a smile. No teeth, and something just a step away from a grimace. Hey! It's the best I could do!

"Well, I'm Ms. Wong, and here's you're schedule. Better get going so you won't be late!" She gives me a wink, yet another smile, and turns around to go back to her desk. I stalk to the door, not even bothering to look if Fang is following me. I need to get out of here ASAP.

As I get safely out the door, I let out a sigh. Man, I hope everyone isn't this happy. If that's the case, anyway you look at it, the only outcome is a really unhappy Max.

"She always acts that way." A deep voice comments behind me. Right, drat, I forgot about him. Ugh. That's kind of scary... I already can identify him by his voice and I've heard him utter, what? Five words?

"Huh." I manage to get out.

"Is your name really Maximum Ride?" he asks me.

"Does everyone really call you Fang?" I snap back... dang. I don't even know his last name.

"Yes." He says calmly. He still looks at me, waiting for an answer. I sigh,

"Yes. My name is Maximum Ride, okay? I hate the name Batchelder." I admit. Normally anything anyone gets from me is a glare... why am I even telling him this? I give a little shake of my head, as if that will help clear it, and stride away. He keeps pace easily with me.

"May I?" He holds his hand out gesturing to my schedule.

"Uhh... sure." He reads it as we continue walking.

"We're going the wrong way." He says.

"Seriously?" I ask in disbelief.

"Uh. Yeah, you're in my advisory with Mrs. Leekly. Don't worry, she's pretty cool for a teacher." Oh, just fabulous. Now I have to put up with him every morning too? Crapola.

"Just out of curiosity, we DO change advisories, right? Like next year?"

"Nope. We stay with them all the way till senior year." Crapola x2.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

I glance at her. She's staring ahead, refusing to look at me. She didn't seem so happy that we're in the same advisory. Haha. She's unlike any girl I have ever met. Even her name, Maximum Ride. I like it, it has a sort of ferocity about it and suits her perfectly. Right now she's turned and kind of glaring at me... for some reason this is hilarious. I start smirking.

"What?" She snaps. My smirk just turns wider. I am one of the most popular guys at this school. A lot of girls would kill to be escorted to class with me. Not be self-centered or anything, just a side comment, you know? Especially Lissa, my girlfriend.

**Max's POV**

We continue to walk to where I guess our advisory is, since I was obviously going the WRONG way, *sigh (again). Fang is still getting all those looks from the guys. The only problem is that I can see that this time they have noticed that their oh-so-popular friend has someone with him, a new someone. My annoyance grows. Fun Fact about Max #46: Max + Attention = ... let's just say, nothing good. I duck my head and curse myself for not bringing a jacket with a hood. That would at least offer some protection from these prying eyes. Great. I have another reason to hate the gorgeous guy walking next to me. Wait... whoa... what did I just say? _What's wrong with you, Max? Gorgeous... I don't think I even knew I had that word in my vocabulary._ There's something seriously wrong with me. I'm getting soft, something I swore I would never become.

The girls stare at me and as soon as they think we're out of earshot start their gossip.

"Did you see her outfit?" says a girl in a super short mini skirt and skintight cami.

"Do you think he actually likes girls, like _that_? another says. Her hair has a life of it's own. Permed and colored an unnatural red. "I thought he only liked redheads... I mean like Lissa's a redhead..." she continues.

"Honey, it's okay, he's just being nice..." her friend comforts her. Her voice fades as we continue past them in the hall. The guys are worse. Their stares are making me really uncomfortable. Some just take a glance, but most, take the glance but then do a double take. Gosh, I knew I shouldn't have worn such a bright color today. Ugh. Tomorrow black hoodie and jeans. But I really don't know why they're staring, no guys at my other school did. The only one who would be seen with me is Dylan. Sheesh. What are with these Arizona boys? I feel my face heat up as we continue down the hall. By the time we have walked down two hallways and up two flights of stairs, I'm getting really pissed off. They haven't stopped staring. But I keep my head down because I don't want to end up in the principle's office on the first day of school. In other words, I obediently follow Fang.

"Don't worry, the stares should go away by next week. By then, they'll have found someone else to obsess over." The guy I'm following pipes up. I didn't notice but he's doing that staring thing again. I feel the blush resume it's position upon my cheeks. How pathetic.

"Oh... um... good. We almost to advisory yet? We've been walking for awhile." I manage to get out. Wow, nice one Max, real smooth.

"Yeah, it's right over here. Sorry, even though we have a cool teacher, it's one of the farthest away from the office. She needs the space." He replies.

"So, uh, what does she teach anyway?" Okay... that sounds a little better. Except for the fact I'm staring straight ahead, not even looking his way. HAH. I'm not fooling anyone with that.

"Drama." That gets my attention.

"Drama?" I repeat.

"Yep, oh, and the choir but she's in charge of the school plays and musicals we put on. We do a musical in the winter and a play in the spring." He explains.

"Oh... so do you sing or act?" I find it odd that I'm actually curious to learn more about this odd boy who I know almost nothing about. Normally, I really don't care about other people and their personal interests.

"Uh... no." He says giving me a weird look. "Do you?"

"If you count singing in the shower, then yes, I'm a pro Broadway Star." I joke. That was odd... and embarrassing! To my equal surprise I see the light glint off his perfect white teeth, just for a second and then disappear again. His face is back to normal but I can see the softness lingering in his eyes. Until that moment, I never realized just how much he doesn't show expression. I guess his smiles are hard to come by. I don't realize I'm smiling too till he says,

"We're here." I readjust my features back into my normal expressionless face and stare at the door we've stopped in front of. It was a normal door with a plaque to the side which read: **Hana Leekly** and under that: Music and Drama. Fang opens the door and gestures me in.

First of all, let me just say that no one would've had trouble guessing what class Mrs. Leekly was in charge of. Musical instruments, music stands, posters that promote music and acting, covered every inch of her room. The white board even had black lines printed along the length of it ready for notes to be written in them. The top of the room angled down to meet the bottom. It was like a lecture hall. Five sets of stairs with many chairs on them clearly meant for a choir to see the conductor. The one who was flapping around the room in her kimono like top. Oh joy.

"Welcome, Welcome!" She says with a huge smile as she gestured me into the room. She had her medium length brown hair pulled into a low ponytail and a huge 100-kilowatt smile shining in my face. She was actually really pretty and seemed to have a bubbly personality. I would guess early 30's?

"Okay guys! Thanks for taking your seats. As all of you from last year know, I'm Mrs. Leekly. Now what some of you might not know is that we have a new student with us today! Even though you should know... if you read your newsletters!" She says faking annoyance as she wags her finger to the rest of the kids. There were only 13 of us including me. We occupied the first couple of rows in the choir room. She instantly brightens once more and says,

"Oh, I'm just kidding! Even I don't read his old newsletters! But you guys know that!" She says laughing. Right there, that's all it took. I officially loved our Advisory teacher. She was so awesome!

"So when you guys have a chance, introduce yourself to Max and make her feel welcome! Okay, so now do you all have your health forms and laptop consent forms?" She says to the class. A few people murmur here and there but the majority hand their green forms and yellow forms in. I dig mine out of my backpack and pass them forward like everyone else. I hand mine to the guy in the row in front of me. As she calls the people who haven't brought in their forms "irresponsible twits" (jokingly, of course), Fang turns to me.

"Hey, I have someone I want you to meet. One sec, okay?" I nod and he gets up and grabs a tall blond kid a few seats over. I would guess him to be at least 5'10" and incredibly skinny. _But Fang is still taller, and more muscular... _a voice side comments in my head. Whoa... ADHD Max... back to the other kid. His hair is a dark blonde color, very layered, bangs, and basically just flat on his head. It matches him. He's wearing a light yellow collared shirt with baggy dark denim jeans, one of the coolest belts I've ever seen, and red High-Tops. His black cap is sitting on top of his desk. One thing really caught my eye on him, though-his eyes. I'm not going to go into all the crap about how 'I got lost in his amazing sparkling blue eyes' because that never happened. Yes, I know, you people would've probably thought that _this_ is where I meet my dream guy, huh? Wrong. What I _did_ see was a really bad black eye. Yup, looks to me as though he gets into a lot of fights. But I guess the low baggy jeans and cool belt is that 'cool' gang-look...

"Hey Ig, I have someone I want you to meet." He nods his head towards me and the pale guy follows him.

"Whoa, man, you have chicks falling for you right and left! What is Lissa gonna say?" He says with a smirk on his face. Wow, sexist pig much?

"Uhhh... don't mean to interrupt your little fun fest but I can talk you know." I say with my best death-glare aimed at the new kid.

"Hmmm... feisty... I like it." He adds with a smirk. "What's your name?"

"Max, I couldn't help overhear (*cough), and your name is uhh... Ig, right? Nice black eye. Where'd you get your name from?" I sneer.

"Iggy, but my real name is Ian." He states a little too proudly. "Oh, and this?" he points to his left eye. "I got it when Fang and I were just fussing around. We do that a lot, but never have I actually hit my head against a pole while I was falling." Ummm... okay...I'm just going to ignore that comment for now...

"So you've known Fang for a long time, I'm guessing?" Cough.

"You bet. We go way back. Hah! I remember one time in second grade when Fang-"

"Okay, that's enough talking for now." Fang quickly adds while his hand is practically covering Iggy's entire face.

"Okay kids, settle down. Now, for the most part, my advisory will be the BEST advisory there is, and you can basically do anything you want except for drugs, alcohol, and setting trash cans on fire... unless I'm in the room, of course!" Mrs. Leekly adds with a smirk and sarcastic facial expressions. Best. Teacher. Ever. "Just as a head's up, the Winter Musical will be coming up so I've already posted the sign up sheet on my desk early so we can get started as quickly as possible. Our musical will be Phantom of the Opera this year and auditions will be held in two weeks. Okay, that's all, go back to your merrying!" She finishes with an overly ecstatic look. Merrying? No clue what that means... who cares?

"Are you guys going to try out?" I turn my torso in my seat to look at the two of them. They both stared at me as if I was the dumbest person on the planet. Hey, it's possible! "A simple "no" would have been nice..." I say.

"Hahaha! I don't sing.." He stated as he hit Fang's back a few times. "My bro Fang would not be caught dead on stage either." He says with a laugh.

"Hah, if you say so!" I say with a smirk at Fang.

"Like I said before. I don't sing. Or act. Or dance." Fang said in monotone. Oh right... when we were walking back from the office...

"Well... there was that time in-" Iggy starts but is cut off by Mrs. Leekly's bubbly voice.

"Okay guys! This was a great first day of advisory! Don't forget your forms or to sign up for the winter musicaaaal!" She beams, singing the last word in her clear soprano voice.

"What do you have first?" Fang asks me as we head out the door. I consult my schedule.

"Ummm... English, you?" I ask.

"English. With Mr. Anderson?" He asks.

"Yep." I reply with a smile.

"He's pretty cool. Sometimes gets a little carried away with what he's doing... but a good teacher." He says.

"Ah... cool." We walk in comfortable silence. I just follow him to the English room, at least I don't have to use my map.

*ooOoo*

I know that Fang isn't much of a jokester and stuff, but he seriously wasn't joking about how Mr. Anderson can get 'carried away with what he's doing.' Somehow we went from Romeo's undying love for Juliet and getting into a really intense discussion about Mr. Anderson's life story. Let me just say that not paying attention to when my other school read this last year didn't help whatsoever in understanding this book. The reason why I say 'Mr. Anderson's version' is because it wasn't about being safe in love. It was pretty much about the complete _opposite_. To put it simply: a really, REALLY intense talk about loving someone deeply from your heart that you would die for them. HAH. As if I'd do that. I think it's pretty pathetic if you 'can't live without a certain person.' I was taking a sip from my water bottle when Fang whispered over to me.

"You wanna know the best part about this discussion?" He said it as if he was about to tell a joke. Each table seated two people. The tables went back maybe eight rows, and two columns each. Yes, Fang was my partner. I just kind of propped my head up to look at him with a "What to do you mean?" type of look on my face.

"Kay, when I tell you, no matter how hard you laugh, you HAVE to start seriously coughing and I'll back you up." His hair was covering most of his face but I could tell this was going to be the best first English class in history. I started coughing here and there so it wasn't going to be like "WOW. Where'd that coughing fit come from?" from all of my classmates.

"-Or maybe this person you love will first act like they hate you when they really actually have deep feelings for you, and you won't know what to expect, and suddenly you're on a date. Right then-" Mr. Anderson's chanting on love was cut off from my hearing when Fang told me,

"...He's been divorced nine times." Well, him saying that in complete monotone did not help my 'coughing fit' at all. I just couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing, then quickly remembered our plan and started coughing like mad, and it was funny cause I actually DID start coughing since I couldn't catch my breath in time. Ugh... Like a ninja in a fight scene, his right hand clamped over my mouth and his left pounding my back a little too hard. Was he purposefully doing that? The whole class stared at us as if we were the most interesting thing that happened to them today... which is probable. Mr. Anderson paused in his 'epic' speech long enough to ask:

"Max are you feeling alright?" I just kinda looked at him, he was holding a hand to his heart and the other was holding Romeo and Juliet. This started another laughing/coughing fit. Mr. Anderson just sighed, like it would be a great disappointment we missed this vital discussion and nodded his head.

"Umm..." Fang pondered. "I'll take her to the nurse." He volunteered. We both got up from our seats and walked out the door when Mr. Anderson started his talking again.

"But sometimes, this person can be bad news..." his voice trailed off as we got farther and farther down the hall. Just the two of us... Wait, did I just write that? 'The two of us...', as in it was quiet. Nothing weird, all right?

"Holy Sh-" I tried to say, but Fang's hand just clamped over my mouth again.

"Hey. Language." he said teasingly. "Not in school." he smirked. I just smiled back.

"Thanks for getting me out of the class. But... seriously? Nine times?" I asked skeptically. He nodded with that smirk still plastered on his face.

"I should actually be telling you thanks. I couldn't stand him for another minute." Fang responded.

"Well, we only had seven more minutes of class, so I'm sure he didn't care."

"Well... you saw that look on his face... He looked so sad we were going to miss the ending to his love life story. Okay, we're here."

"What?" Oh right, we were going to the nurse's office...

"Why, did you want to run off with me and skip school on your first day?" He asked jokingly. Yes, he was completely joking. I just punch him in the shoulder and enter the room.

"Hey dear, you not feeling too well?" The nurse was somewhat old, curly hair, glasses, and very friendly looking.

"-No, well, she just started having a coughing fit in class." Fang cut in from behind me.

"Oh, well alright, why don't you have a seat?" She smiled.

Turned out, I didn't have a fever, cold, dry throat or anything. Shocking, right? I just had a bad case of 'Teacher Humor.' What can I say? It's contagious.

The bell rang and Fang and I started off to lunch as soon as the nurse was done.

"Lunch!" I yell as we enter the cafeteria. Iggy and Fang are in front of me, leading the way. Psh, I could've found the cafeteria on my own... probably. Fang grins since he already knows my love for food and Iggy starts talking about one lunch he ate and he threw up afterwards. Greeaattt.

"Okay, Ig. Don't gross her out anymore than you already have." We take our seats and I can't help but feel that one girl is staring at me too much.

"Um, is it just me, or is that girl over there staring at me?" I ask Iggy, standing to my right, and Fang standing to my left. He takes a quick glance and a grin spreads across his face and starts half laughing and half coughing under his breath.

"Oh... Um... That's Fang's girlfriend, Lissa." I feel a pang in my chest for some reason...

"Oh, cool." I say dismissing that weird feeling.

Suddenly, Lissa's standing right behind Fang, coming up to his left, since I'm on his right. Her hand comes up onto Fang's left shoulder and her smile gets even wider when she sees me. I guess she decided I'm no threat to her and her boyfriend. I guess I'm not. I've never been one for style and I'm just in a plain red top, and jeans. My hair is stuck in my braid, just to get it out of my way. I should cut it soon (*sigh). On the other hand, she's really pretty. Her great figure, long thick auburn hair, huge green eyes, and a splash of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She's about half a head shorter than me. She's even dressed really nice. Casual enough, but probably name brands. She's wearing white shorts and green-layered blouse that brings out her eyes. Her thick auburn hair is in a ponytail.

"Hey Lissa." Fang says with a small smile aimed at her. Nothing like the grins he was giving me earli- okay... why do I even CARE?

"Hey Fang! Hi Iggy. Whose this?" She says looking at me again.

"That's Max. She's new. Her family moved here from LA." Fang explains.

"Fabulous." Her face is beaming. I think it's actually a genuine smile. She seems nice enough.

"So do you all want to go to dinner on Saturday, we can get to know each other better?" She says asking us.

"Oh, I have plans on Saturday night, sorry." Fang replies, glad to hear he's keeping his promise about the barbecue.

"Me too." I say quietly.

"Oh, that's all right. Some other time then?" She smiles.

"Sure." I say. She turns her perfect smile to me.

"Nice meeting you. I think we'll be great friends" Turns to Fang, reaches up on the tips of her toes and kisses him lightly on the cheek. She shoots a smile at all of us again, flips her perfect hair, and walks off on her 5 in. stilettos waving her hand at us behind her. A second later the slight scent of a sweet perfume is the only trace of Fang's beautiful girlfriend.

"She's really pretty and seems like a nice girl." I say as we stand in line.

"She is, she's great at Tennis and has a nice voice too." Iggy pipes up.

"Wow... multi-talented." I reply with a smile. "I'd really like to get to know her better." I find this odd, I normally don't feel the need to get to know too many people.

"I'm glad you like her." Fang says with a smile. I can tell he really likes her. I'm happy for him.

"Do you guys want to come over to my house today?" I say, without even thinking about it.

"Really?" Iggy asks.

"Yeah, we can bring the kids and swim at our pool." I say with a smile.

"We can stop at our house, ask my mom, and grab our suits." Fang says.

"Where do you live?" Iggy asks.

"On Addison Blvd." I reply.

"Oh! Me too! What number?"

"1564." I say.

"I live right next door! Cool we can walk to school together." Iggy says beaming.

"Sure." I say returning his smile. We pay for our food and sit down at one of the many tables. I'm really looking forward to this afternoon... Arizona may not be that bad after all...

**Hey! I know Lissa is supposed to be this evil girl who steals Fang away from Max but we're trying a different approach. In the book she actually seems to be a nice girl, yes awkwardly kissing Fang on their second meeting, but other than that... :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any other questions or comments feel free to comment. But please don't feel obligated!**

**Fly on!**

**NarutoLover7890 and Mx2Blue326**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey y'all! It's my turn to write the authors note again (Mx2Blue326)! So I'll keep it short and sweet. First off, thanks for all the reviews you guys leave for us! You're the best! Okay and I know we have some mixed reactions on Lissa being "nice" and not "mean", but that's all right! It's a little slow now, we understand, but we got some nice surprises ready for you that are coming up... so I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out! *Evil grins!**

**Also, thank you so, so, so, so, so, (okay you get the picture), so much for all your help NarutoLover7890! She is the best co-writer and friend I could ever ask for! Ever need help on a fanfiction or want to lighten the load and make your story x2 better? Write one with one of your BFF's, trust me, it's the best. Love ya NL7890! Also, lots of love to all of you out there, but moving on. :)**

**Disclaimer****: Credit is given where credit is due. Thank you James Patterson for bestowing Max and Co. unto us, creating the REAL Maximum Ride Series... and blah blah blah. So, just thanks again! And now moving on, here's Chapter 7! (Sorry, I THOUGHT it was going to be short and sweet... oh well, too bad.)**

**Chapter 7**  
**Max's POV**  
I know this totally doesn't sound like me, but Fang has got some ABS! I'm not fawning over them, or anything, I'm just saying that he's very muscular. That's all. Also, my prediction about Iggy hasn't changed. He's a twig, but a twig that eats a LOT. A few hours ago, I was taking double takes on Iggy while we were eating our lunches. He eats a lot of food, especially hotdogs, and _fast_! I laughed so hard I almost threw up! I did have a very painful stomach ache afterwards!

Just as a recap, as soon as we heard the bell that gave our path to freedom, Fang, Iggy and I grabbed our packs, casually ignored an annoying girl who wanted to interview us, burst out the double doors and ran to the elementary buildings to pick up Ari and the twins. It seemed like Ari and the twins were in the same kindergarten class. Angel and Gazzy are soo cute, almost, well, just as cute as Ari! I know, that totally did NOT seem like a "Max-thing-to-say" but, whatever, it's totally true. Nudge met us at their classrooms, thankfully her friends didn't come too because they didn't know about our little get together. One Nudge is more than enough. Then all of us, teleported to Fang's house. Did we really? No, (duh) but the trip went by so fast that it seemed like we were. Nudge, and the twins ran inside the house. Nudge dragged me along. I grabbed Fang's hand with a "help me!" expression on my face. He just smirked and allowed me to drag him with me. Iggy followed us in, looking thoughtful... hmmm I was getting a little scared, it seemed that he NEVER had any thoughts. Ha! I crack myself up. Still smiling I am pulled into a huge room. Wow. I didn't realize that Fang was so rich. His house was at least the size of mine, probably a little bigger.

"Wow! Look at you two!" Alice says, grinning at Fang. I just smiled at her. _What _was she talking about?

"It's much better seeing you here than that Lissa girl. She's nice, but you, you're something else!" She gushes. Oh. Crapola, she is soo getting the wrong impression. I yank my hand away from Fang's and jump towards Nudge who is still holding onto my other hand. Which causes her to stagger over, and pull me with her. I though we were going to fall until I felt two strong arms twine themselves around my waist and put back to my feet. My cheeks are beet red, I can tell, so I just looked down. I was able to pull Nudge up with my other hand and she gave me an annoyed look.

"Uh, thanks." I say. Still looking down at the ground. He had removed his arms but one of them still rested on the small of my back. He just looked at me with that dark stare of his and smirked at me. Wow, someone thinks a bit much of himself.

"I'm going to go and get my stuff. Iggy want to borrow one?" He says, removing his hand. I can still feel the place where his hand just was. It felt like I was branded by a hot iron. I turn to see Iggy shake his head.

"Nah, thanks man, but I can grab one from my house on the way."

"That's fine. Be down in a sec. Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy hurry up. We don't want to keep them waiting." He says as he walks up the stairs. Angel follows him and takes his hand. Gazzy is right behind them. Nudge stalks after them, I guess she's still mad about the whole "pushing her to the ground" thing. :) Haha, that was so not my fault. Great, now it's just Iggy and me. Alice had gone into the kitchen.

We sit together in silence until Iggy pipes up,

"She's right you know." _What?_ Just then Fang and the others come back down.

"Ready to go, he asks?" He's wearing black board shorts and a mostly black t-shirt. HOT- I mean... err... not?

By the time we're walking out the door saying our goodbyes, it finally occurs to me what Iggy meant by what he said. She... the only one who said anything while we were in here. Alice. I brush it off, but can't stop that warm feeling from rising up inside me.

*ooOoo*

"CANNON BALL!" Iggy shouted as he jumped into the pool, knees hugged tightly to his chest. He came back to the surface, whipping his bangs to the side. "This is AWESOME!" He shouted as we went back under, bubbles popping on the surface.

"Hahaha, totallyyy..." I laughed and looked up at Fang, a slight smirk on his face. I just smiled again. We were standing at the edge of the pool, shoulder to shoulder while we watched Ari, Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy swimming in the pool. I was wearing a short sleeved zip up jacket and long camo board shorts. Fang had taken off his shirt and was just wearing his pure black board shorts. Any other girl would've screamed right there, but not me. I don't fall for those types of things. But there's no doubt that he had a nice body... third time today! STOP IT!

"Well, I guess I'll go join Ig..." Fang started.

"Yeah, totally." I unzipped my jacket kind of awkwardly, but then felt like an idiot for even caring. I was wearing a two-piece brown and green bathing suit. I turned around to find Fang's eyes on me, but he quickly turned away. If this was in third person I would've said 'FAIL' right there, but since it's first person, _wow that was awkward._

We walked over to the deep end and slid in. It was about room temperature which was good. I swear Fang's cheeks are a little darker right now, but I can't tell since his bangs are all in his face. Not digging too deep would be a good thing to do right now, so I'll stick to that.

"Oh my goshhhh! Max, this is awesome!" Nudge yelled from across the pool. I smiled. We spent another hour in the pool and then we all got out to change.

We all gathered at the pool again to eat dinner when everyone finished changing. Iggy was sitting on the edge of pool with his feet in the water, and Fang was with me. He gave me a little elbow bump and started casually walking over to Iggy. I watched him as he slowly bent down, very silently, ran over to him. You wouldn't believe what he did. He _shoved Iggy into the pool, fully dressed._ **(A/N: Any of you out there do that? At least once? :) **I started laughing so hard and the kids were cracking up all around me. Iggy came back to the surface, once again pushing his hair to the side, super angry. Uh-Oh.  
Nudge whipped out her camera and snapped a couple shots... Where'd that come from?  
"FANG!" Iggy shouted, but Fang was laughing so hard it was contagious. Iggy pushed himself out of the pool and started laughing too. He'd probably totally kill Fang later, but whatever, his expression was priceless!

**Iggy's POV**

Mrs. Leekley gave me a huge smile as I handed her back the clipboard.

"Wow! I never knew they had any interest in drama or singing! This is going to be wonderful!" She gushed in that bubbly way of hers.  
"Yeah, it was sure a surprise to them too!" I say. Grinning back, though in my head I'm laughing like the true evil genius I am. I can't wait to see Fang and Max try to wheedle their way out of this one. They'll learn to never underestimate the Iggster. Wait till they see the two extra names on that audition list. Mwa ha ha ha ha!. This makes our total: Max & Fang: 1 - Iggy: 2. What? I killed two birds with one stone? :) **(A/N: No pun intended)**.

**What? OMG! Did Iggy just do what I thought he did? Yes, he did. So get over it. (JK!) But, this will sure make for some fun surprises in the future. Sorry for the shortness! Next chapter will be better. :)**

**Fly on!**  
**Mx2Blue326 and NarutoLover7890**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey there! This is NarutoLover7890. We know our last chapter was really short. But, we had to cut it off right when Iggy signed them up. :) So sorry about that, this one will make up for it. Also, it's sort of been slow getting the chapters up cause I was sick, so please excuse this! Buuuuuut, BBQ's and some unexpected auditions are coming up! Wanna see what happens next? Keep reading.**

**Disclaimer:**** All characters from this story belong to James Patterson. But not the storyline itself. :) Sorry, I ran out of sarcastic disclaimers today... they will be back soon... hopefully.**  
**Also, special thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber for his amazing music from Phantom!**

**Chapter 8**  
**Max's POV**

It is now the weekend. Finally! I thought school was never going to get out! The bell rang, announcing our freedom from English. Today just so happens that English was our last class of the day so I was already with Fang. I didn't have to go searching for him. Ha!

"I can't wait to get out of here." I mutter to him as we walk as quickly as possible to our lockers. Another plus, my locker happens to be near his so we can walk together.

"Yeah. You didn't forget our BBQ? Right?" He says with a wink.

"What?" I say putting on my best-confused expression. But he can totally tell that I'm being sarcastic. Only one week and we are super close! Iggy too. We have hung out together after school every day this week. Normally going to my house or Fang's, but we went to Iggy's once too. He's an only child so it's peaceful. His parents are really nice, you can tell that they love him a lot.

"Don't tell me that you forgot about our very important date!" Fang exclaims with mock hurt.

"What date? When did I _ever_ agree to going on a 'date' with someone like _you_?" I ask teasing him a little. I would so totally go on a date with hi-... err never mind... on with the conversation.

"Oh, you didn't agree to go on a date with me. You begged me to go out with you. Aren't you forgetting that little detail?" He says with an innocent smile. His eyes say otherwise.

"I begged, did I?" I say raising my eyebrows.

"Yes, you begged." He says shortly.

"Well, then I can't argue with that, off to our BBQ." I say with a huge grin, looping my arm through his. We're so engrossed in our conversation that we're halfway out the door before we realize we forgot to stop at our lockers. Whoops!

*ooOoo*

I am sooo full! I just ate like 2 hamburgers (with all the condiments, except onions and tomatoes - can't stand those raw!) PLUS a huge hot dog. I have also probably drunk an entire liter of root beer all by myself, plus a big tube of BBQ Pringles (I can totally eat the whole can in one sitting). The nice thing about me is that I guess I don't have to worry about what I eat. No matter what I've eaten, I've never been fat, or anorexic skinny, just tall and a little on the thin side. I always eat a lot, but I guess I move around so much it doesn't matter. :) Lucky me.

As we wait for desert (s'mores - YUM!) Fang and I escape from the other kids and the grownups (of course). We are at Fang's house for the BBQ. What's really nice about his house is that he has a HUGE backyard. We disappear into the dark and the wide expanse of meadow. Forest surrounds the green clearing. There are a few trees here and there as well. It's his own personal park. He told me that his parents missed the green grass in sunny, dry Arizona so they had this meadow and forest created on the five acres they own in the back of their house.

"Come on, Fang!" I call to him as I run ahead. Sure I'm full but I like to run. The cool night air whips through my hair making me feel at ease. This must be what a bird feels like. Slicing through the sky, free to fly where they wish. I have reached the top of a grass hill and open my arms to the night sky. My arms come to rest, slightly extended, by my side. I tilt my chin up and close my eyes. This moment is perfect. I hear the crickets chirping and the wind whispering through the trees. Some soft footfalls come from behind me and I turn to see Fang smiling slightly at me. His eyes are warm again. Like melted obsidian, if that's even possible.

"What are you doing?" He asks me. His gentle smile has turned slightly amused.

"I don't know." I say, he would probably laugh at me if I tell him what I really felt right then.

"Well, whatever you're doing, you look a lot happier than when you first got here." He comments. I give him a small smile. It seems like he knows exactly what I'm thinking but has the decency to leave me alone. He knows I feel a lot better. And it's true, I'm uber happy right now. But he also knows what I'm thinking might be personal, something for me only. He sits down and looks up at me. There is no judgment in his eyes, it's then that I know I can trust him with this.

"Well, you might laugh at me. But, out here, away from everything, I feel so free. No school, no parents, no worries. And running, the wind rushing by, it makes me feel like I'm flying. Free to do what I want..." I say trailing off as I reach the end of my confession. I don't look at him. Hopefully his expression hasn't changed.

"You feel as if you can do anything." His deep voice says without missing a beat. Yes. That's exactly it. I sink down in the soft grass next to him.

"That's exactly how I feel." I say softly. I turn to face him, he's looking at me too. The smile is back on his gorgeous, full lips. Before I think of anything else as stupid as that I look away. Then I lay back in the springy grass.

"Isn't that the mot beautiful thing you have ever seen?" I ask.

**Fang's POV**

"Isn't that the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?" She asks me. She's lying flat on her back. Her hands rested over her stomach gazing at the brilliant Milky Way shining in the Arizona sky. I keep staring at her.

"Yes." I reply immediately. Max may not see it, but she's gorgeous. Her thick mahogany hair is complimented with unique natural highlights. Her deep, warm, milk chocolate eyes are the most expressive part of her. And her smile. OH, her smile. When you see it the room brightens and you feel like smiling too. It's contagious. And when it's aimed at you, you get this warm feeling that runs through you from the tips of your fingers all the way to your toes. And lastly, her laugh. It's the best music in the world. I may love Lissa, but Max is the best 'girl-friend' I could have ever asked for.

"Do you know the constellations?" She asks.

"Mhm." I reply. "When I was younger, I would come out here for hours on end to sit here and just gaze at the stars."

"Wow." Max replies. She sounds slightly impressed. Then after a second. "I can't find them at all. It's so sad." She says, then lets out a half laugh half sigh.

"Would you like to learn?" I ask.

"YES!" Now she sounds just like Nudge when she is told she can go on a major shopping spree.

**Max's POV**

"That's the big dipper. See the four stars that create the box? Now look at the others in the 'zigzag' line. That's the handle." He explains to me. He's great. Handsome, I'll admit that. Sarcastic, annoying, disruptive, fun, kind, caring, loyal, trustworthy, and more. He's everything I could have asked for in my best 'guy-friend'. He's like a darker Dylan. In personality and appearance. I miss Dylan and J.J., but I've said my goodbyes. It's all right. I'll always love them but Arizona is my home now. I need to accept that. Of course, a lot has to do with Fang and Iggy, but whatever. Give me the benefit of the doubt! Fang leans back to join me on the grass. We're shoulder to shoulder, peering at the stars. The cool air is blowing on me and I feel nice and cozy in my jeans and purple and black hoodie. I feel my eyes drift shut and another wave of wind blows over me. I have just a second longer to hear Fang's deep voice lulling me to sleep before I lose consciousness.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

When I wake up I find myself no longer on the grassy field. I'm in a hammock swinging gently from side to side. No, I'm not, I start awake to find myself looking up into two replica's of the night sky. _O-M-G. Fang is carrying me. In his arms._ Is the first thing that enters my mind. Fang and his toned arms wrapped protectively around me.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty." He says with a sarcastic smile bearing down on me.

"Why are you carrying me?" I say with indignation. My annoyance slightly marred by the tremble in my voice.

"Because I couldn't bear to wake you up. You looked so tried and peaceful. I just wanted to let you have a few more minutes to dream. You look better when you sleep, you don't scowl." He says in explanation.

"Huh." I reply immediately scowling at him.

"You're okay with that right?" He asks with a smile.

"Yeah, whatever." I say. He continues to carry me until we reach the perimeter of light surrounding the house. Everyone else has gone inside. He gingerly sets me down on my feet. For some stupid reason my knees give out and I'm about to do a face-plant into the dirt. Lean, muscled arms wind their way around my waist, again.

"Whoa, you okay there?" He asks. His tone is light but his face has lost the carefree look it had a moment ago. Barriers back up.

"I'm fine. Thanks. I don't know what happened." I say. "Must still be a little tired, I guess."

"Mhm." He says releasing me. I walk up to the front of the house and feel his eyes watching me from the back.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

It's been two weeks since the BBQ at Fang's. So now it's an early September morning and I'm surprisingly running very early today. I'm usually late on school days... well practically everyday. Max Fun Fact #54: I don't do mornings. And Bonus Max Fun Fact: If you give me a specific time to be somewhere, expect me at least two hours late.

Anyway, back to my amazingly early morning. My parents said they could drive Ari to class so I'm alone for my walk today. I walk leisurely down the sidewalk, Iggy's always late, so I'm not going to bother to wait for him. As I walk I sense something behind me. I turn and run into the black wall of... Fang's muscular chest.

"Would you stop that!" I exclaim. **(A/N: Remember this one? Or, *cough, something like it? [Too lazy to check the book for the REAL quote... :P] Yeah.)**

"What? Breathing?" He replies. Jerk. I roll my eyes and turn around again.

"No, but it does seem one out of every two times I see you I come face to face with your chest because you have the inability to make noise when you move. So then I have no clue that you're _right_ behind me. And then, I run into you, normally ending in my pain." I finish, exasperated. He just chuckles. Idiot. I stalk ahead of him.

"Awww... come on! Don't be like that, Max!" He protests.

"Nope." I say. Fabulous. Now I'm annoyed. This morning I was actually in a kind of good mood, and that's coming from a person that doesn't like emotions... good or bad.

"Please?" I feel hands on my shoulders. They spin me around and I'm looking into two expanses of midnight. The proximity makes my cheeks start to get hot.

"Ugh. Whatever." I say. I gotta get away. I think this is the first time I've ever felt anything close to hyperventilating. Fantastic. He chuckles next to me. Smart aleck. That makes my total three derogatory names in just two minutes. New record.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**  
Finally we reach advisory. I'm not really paying attention. Mrs. Leekly is announcing the morning, well, announcements. Iggy is looking really happy this morning, hmmm... wonder why. Whatever. I'm too busy doodling on the cover of my math notebook to care. My wings are looking quite spectacular when I hear my name being brought up in the conversation.

"- Max, we will start at 3:00pm right after school lets out." Mrs. Leekly says.

"What?" I say. Fang's eyes have grown the size of two black dinner plates. Something is seriously up. It takes a lot for Fang to do that. When we come to school his joking self is gone, replaced by Mr. Non-Emotional-Rock. I look around the room searching for any danger. Habit from living in L.A. Instead, I see Iggy is rolling on the floor laughing his head off.

"Oh, I said auditions start at 3:00pm, right after school lets out. So get to the auditorium ASAP, okay?" She repeats.  
"Excuse me?" I say. Now I'm seriously confused.

"I never signed u-" Slowly the pieces come together. Fang's freaked out look, Iggy's laughing fit, Mrs. Leekly using my name in the same word with "audition". Why that little-! I turn my face to glare at Iggy but he has enough common sense to disappear. I look back to Fang. He has somewhat regained his cool. (Not really.)

"Ummm... we didn't sign up for any auditions, Mrs. Leekly." He says.

"Oh, of course you didn't!" Mrs. Leekly says with a smile. I let out a sigh of relief. Except halfway through my exhale:

"Iggy did!" I somehow choke on my own breath and start choking and gagging. Fang pounds me on the back while I cough my brains out.

"Oh. He did, did he?" I ask through my gritted teeth.

"Yep. Is there anything wrong?" She asks. Her eyes have gotten big and kind of shiny. Oh shoot.

"Ummm... we didn't exactly know about this..." Fang says.

"Oh, well in that case, should I erase your names?" She asks. She looks so dejected and let down. Like we deflated a party balloon. Make that one of those singing party balloons.

"Yes that wou-" I start to say.

"No! It's fine. We'll come..." Fang says trailing off because now I'm glaring daggers at him. He better do something quick!

"But I forgot to say that Iggy wanted to tryout too. He has a serious passion for theater!" He says with a sly grin in the direction of his strawberry blond head. Okay, that was not what I meant by 'do something quick'.

"Oh! Iggy too? FABULOUS!" The light is back in her eyes and she's practically jumping up and down on the spot. Yeah... Fabulous...

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

"What the heck was that about?" Max yanks my arm around so I face her. Then she scream-whispers in my ear. She would never make a scene in public. I cringe. She's great at putting the same amount of, or maybe even more of, venom in her voice when she's whispering than if she were screaming it at the top of her lungs.

"Well. She looked so sad, I had to do something! Plus, she was making bambi eyes at me. You know I can't resist those!" I say.  
"No." She says.  
"What did you say?" I ask. No one tells _me '_No'.  
"No, there is no way you can get me to go to that stupid audition." She says.

"Oh really? Well I will carry or drag you down there, if I'm doing this, then so are you." I say. Then trying a different approach:

"I couldn't pass up the chance to hear you sing. I have to sing too, you know. AND, I got Iggy back too!" I appeal.

"I don't sing!" She snaps at me.

"Well, you will, this afternoon. Now excuse me, I don't wanna be late for class." I say with a smirk.

"I'm still not coming!" She threatens to my back.

"Oh, I think you will." I call over my shoulder. A dangerous sparkle lights my eyes.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

It's lunch and Fang still hasn't changed his mind. He won't budge and I don't know how to change his mind. I also know he'll find a way to force me to go if I don't go willingly. He's stupid stronger than me, stupid taller than me, stupid hotter than... whoa! Take that last one back. What does that even have to do with this? Okay, whatever.

It's last period and no luck. He is determined as ever... Oh, someone please help me get out of this mess! Who knows what will happen?

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**  
He's right there at my door, waiting to pounce if I try to make any trouble. He's smirking at me. I take a deep breath and walk down to meet him.

"Ready to go?" He asks me.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I mutter. Another chuckle. I elbow him in the ribs.

When we reach the auditorium my limbs don't want to work anymore.

"Do you need me to carry you?" He asks with a grin.

"No, I'm fine." I smile sweetly. Jerk. I start walking slowly again when I feel something behind me. The next second I'm off my feet and falling. Right before my head cracks against the cement another arm grabs me and I'm lifted into the air.

"FAAAAANNGGG!" I scream.

"Yes?" Playing innocent, that idiot.

"You are so - " I say but am cut off by His Annoying Highness.

"Awesome? Fantastic? Amazing? Ninja? Perfect?" He offers. That's when I conk him on the head with my fist.

"Be careful! Or I may drop you." He says.

"I'm fine with that if it means I can be away from you!" I say.

"Well, too bad. We're here." He says setting me on my feet._ Breath Maximum, you can do this!_ I coach. Fang opens the doors and I take a step inside the air-conditioned theater. The place is huge. At least 600 seats. With a balcony too! The stage is well lit and I can see Mrs. Leekly talking to someone who is sitting on a piano bench. I guess they will be accompanying us. We take seats near the back of the people already there. There are about 50 kids there.

"Hi guys! What are you doing here?" I hear a high voice ask. I turn to see Lissa making her way over to us. Wow, I almost forgot about her. Fang's been spending a lot of time with Iggy and me...

"Ummm trying out. You?" I ask.

"Same as you. Though Fang, I didn't know you liked acting or singing!

"It never came up." He says.

"Haha, okay. May I sit with you guys?" She asks.

"Sure." I say. "So, do you normally do this sort of thing?" I ask when she's seated.

"Yep. I love to sing." She replies with a sweet smile.

"She was Laurey in Oklahoma last year in the Middle School Musical." Fang says "Oh, cool!" I say with mock enthusiasm. Not that they would be able to tell. _What are they talking about? Okla-whata? Laurey? _Whatever.

"That's the female lead part." Fang supplies. Oh, I knew that. Hehe... While Fang and Lissa continue talking, I watch Mrs. Leekly onstage. She has finished talking and is now clapping her hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Good afternoon everybody!" She pipes up. "Now I know you are all very excited to begin our audition but I would like everyone to warm up their voices first. Let's begin with an easy scale." She then proceeds to trill out a nice 'n 'easy' scale. The accompanist plays with us.

"La la la la la la la!" We all sing as we warm up. I don't want to sound like a total loon up there so I sing with them. It's no trouble for me. We start around middle C then work our way down the scale for the guys. When we get low enough she says girls can jump back up when needed but I didn't need to. A lot of other girls, including Lissa, had to. I could go maybe five more notes down the scale before I had to switch back up an octave.

"Zaaay zaaay zaaaahhh!" Mrs. Leekly demonstrates. **(A/N: This is a real choir warm up we do - no joke.)** We also do lip trills which help us 'sopranos' (what?) go even 'higher'. Those are funny, I start cracking up half way through it. They totally tickle your lips, and we sound like lunatics doing it. Don't believe me? Try it sometime. Lissa shoots me a look as I giggle away. She smiles slightly but keeps going. Fang smiles at me too. Hehe. Finally we're done with warm ups. Mrs. Leekly explains that she will have individual solos and then a reading from the play. Call backs, if necessary, will be held in a few days. Girls are able to sing "Think of Me", "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", or "All I Ask of You". Boys auditioning for Raul would sing "All I Ask of You" and boys auditioning for the phantom would sing "Music of the Night". Consulting her list, Mrs. Leekly first calls out:

"Before I go down the list, would anyone like to volunteer to go first?" Lissa raises her hand high.

"I would Mrs. Leekly!" She calls out in her clear voice.

"Great!" She says beaming at Lissa. "Come on up! Oh, and please say your name, advisor, part you want to audition for, the song you choose to sing, and Soprano, Alto, etc. Whatever part you are." As Lissa makes her way to the stage, my curiosity is aroused. She must have a beautiful voice if she got the lead last time. She would make a good Christine. (Okay, after hearing that I had to go through with this I may have possibly, maybe watched the Phantom of the Opera movie... hehe).

"Hi everyone! I'm Lissa Greene, my advisor is Mr. Lucas, and I'm going to be auditioning for the role of Christine. I'm going to sing "Think of Me" and I'm a Soprano I." She says in a confidant voice.

"Great Lissa! Let's hear it! By the way, if anyone needs lyrics there are copies on the piano. I'm assuming you don't need it Lissa?" Mrs. Leekly says with a smile. Lissa smiles and shakes her had "no". Of course she would memorize it!

"Whenever you're ready." Mrs. Leekly says writing something on her clipboard. Lissa nods to the accompanist and she begins playing.

**_Think of me, think of me fondly,_**  
**_when we've said goodbye._**

Lissa sings in her clear soprano voice. Her voice is great. Clear, bright, and easy to listen to. I can see why she got the part last year. She continues her song.

**_Remember me once in a while -_**  
**_please promise me you'll try._**  
**_When you find that, once again, you long_**  
**_to take your heart back and be free -_**  
**_if you ever find a moment,_**  
**_spare a thought for me._**

The auditorium breaks into applause for her, me included. Fang just smiles. Though his eyes aren't quite as soft as when he was looking at me the other... errr... the other, never. :) Yep.

"Well that was beautiful Lissa! Now please continue with this dialogue..." Mrs. Leekly says. This goes on for a looong, looong time. There was one other girl that had a very nice voice. She was a junior named Brigid Dwyer. I notice Fang clapped extra hard after her tryout. She was really good though. She'll probably make the callbacks. Of course Fang and I don't raise our hands to go. We'll wait till the end. A lot of people leave right after their audition so I'm happy. Finally when there's only about five people left, Lissa's phone vibrates.

"Oh, sorry guys! I gotta go. Hope I'll see you at callbacks. Good luck!" She says with a smile, then dashes up the walkway. She's so confident that she'll make the callbacks? Interesting. I mean, she probably will, but whatever...  
"Okay, who's left?" Mrs. Leekly calls out.

"Ummm... Iggy still hasn't gone." Fang calls out.

"Oh, Iggy!" Yes, perfect let him suffer. I look around. I don't see anyone else. Oh no, he didn't!

"Iggy?" Mrs. Leekly calls.

"He's not here. Said he had to leave, it was urgent. He said sorry, but maybe next time." A sophomore I recognize as Sam says. Now that I look around again it's only me, Fang, and Sam.

"Okay then, that's too bad, but that's show biz. Sam would you mind going next?" Mrs. Leekly asks.

"Sure." Sam turns out to be trying for Raul. He gets up to sing, and W-O-W! He has an awesome voice. Deep and sure. It would suit Lissa's voice perfectly.

"Very nice Sam! You did great as Curly last year too!" Oh, so he was the lead in Okla-whatever. Nice. I could picture that. I give him a smile as he gets off the stage.  
"Nice job." I say.

"Thanks!" He says flashing a grin.

"Nicholaaaass!" Mrs. Leekly sings out. "You're up!"

"Okay. Yo, I'm Nicholas Walker and I'll be auditioning for... anything really. You're my advisor... and I think I'm a Baritone." That got my attention. He actually knows, well kind of knows, what part he is? I listen closer.

"Okay Fang, why don't you try "All I Ask of You"?" Mrs. Leekly suggests.

"Okay." As soon as the piano starts I feel all tingly... weird. After the intro, he opens his mouth to sing.

O.O = Me, after his performance. His voice is deep, rich, and dark. It's beautiful. I'm shocked. He could hit the notes no problem. He sang with confidence and didn't mess up once (though we have heard the songs a million times). His acting is amazing too. I was sucked in and totally believed he was the part he was playing. (Mrs. Leekly had him try out both the Phantom's lines and Raoul's.) He might have been better than Sam even! I'm still in a daze when I hear my name again.

"Max! It's your turn! You're the last one." Mrs. Leekly says with a smile. Crap! I take a deep breath and get out of my seat. It's only three people. Fang, Mrs. Leekly, and Sam. Well four if you count the accompanist, no, three is three too many for me. When I pass Fang, who is returning to his seat, he gives my arm a squeeze.

"My name is Maximum Ride. I'll audition for whatever part you want to give me. You're my advisor. I don't know what I want to sing and I've never been in a choir before so I don't know what part I am." Wow, that sounded _so_ lame. So glad there are like, no people here!

"Okay, that's totally fine Max. You can sing "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again"." She says with an encouraging smile. Oh good! I like this song. It's nice, even though it's originally sung in a cemetery to her dead father... but other than that, cool song.

I grab the sheet of lyrics off of the piano and take my place in center stage. Then I nod to the accompanist and she begins playing. I take a deep breath and open my mouth to start singing. **(A/N: We were gonna end it here, but since we love you guys so much we decided to finish what we started. :) )**

**_You were once my one companion_**  
**_You were all that mattered_**  
**_You were once a friend and father_**  
**_Then my world was shattered_**

**_Wishing you were somehow here again_**  
**_Wishing you were somehow near_**  
**_Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed_**  
**_Somehow you would be here_**

**_Wishing I could here your voice again_**  
**_Knowing that I never would_**  
**_Dreaming of you helped me to do_**  
**_All that you dreamed I could._**

The last note hung in the auditorium air and echoed slightly off the walls. I come back down from my fantasy world. When I was singing I turned into someone else. I wasn't Max anymore, I felt like I was Christine Daae, singing for her father.

Silence. I KNEW I should've just skipped this stupid thing and just hid in the girl's bathroom! My heart is beating so hard, and I just made the biggest fool of myself EVER. Except for that time in 3rd grade... never mind that. This is AWFUL. If you could've just seen Mrs. Leekly's, Sam's, and Fang's face right then, anyone would've started crying. Luckily for me, I've learned to not cry from something as idiotic as this. _Really pisses me off that they can't even fake a smile and clap. _I thought to myself. Fang especially! He just stared with a 'Why the hell did I even bother to bring her here? Big mistake.' type of look. I just stood there, so embarrassed I couldn't believe it. I finally heard the first sound of two hands being put together for the first clap of the night. It was Sam. At least he's a decent guy to clap, even if it was as fake as a unicorn in Candyland. After that, Fang and Mrs. Leekly joined in to clap. The clap wasn't like Lissa's applause after _her_ audition. It was robotic. *Clap, clap, clap. And that was it.

"Max, that was amazing!" Mrs. Leekly said. Yeah, right.

"Dude! Max, who knew you could sing?" Sam shouted from the back row. Mhm, keep talking...

The most important person hasn't said anything yet. He must be trying to regain his hearing back from my awful performance. Fabulous, I've just made my best friend here go deaf. *Sigh... I mean, I know I was BAD, but not THAT bad.

"Thanks." I mutter. As I turn to go off the stage.

"WAIT!" Mrs. Leekly yells. "Could you sing "Think of Me" for me?" What? She wants to put them through MORE torture. Oh jeesh.

"Uhhh... sure." I say. I go to the piano and exchange the lyrics of "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" for "Think of Me". I once again nod in the direction of the piano. The chords start flowing around me as I await my cue to begin singing.

**_Think of me, think of me fondly,_**  
**_when we've said goodbye._**  
**_Remember me once in a while -_**  
**_please promise me you'll try._**  
**_When you find that, once again, you long_**  
**_to take your heart back and be free -_**  
**_if you ever find a moment,_**  
**_spare a thought for me_**

Now there's a small musical break, I glance at Mrs. Leekly. This is where the other auditions cut off. She snapped back from whatever she was thinking and gestures for me to continue. The pianist keeps playing and I wait for my time to start singing again.

**_We never said our love was evergreen,_**  
**_or as unchanging as the sea -_**  
**_but if you can still remember_**  
**_stop and think of me . . ._**

**_Think of all the things_**  
**_we've shared and seen -_**  
**_don't think about the way things_**  
**_might have been . . ._**

**_Think of me, think of me waking,_**  
**_silent and resigned._**  
**_Imagine me, trying too hard_**  
**_to put you from my mind._**  
**_Recall those days_**  
**_look back on all those times,_**  
**_think of the things we'll never do -_**  
**_there will never be a day,_**  
**_when I won't think of you . . ._**

I now skip the part where "Raoul" would sing. The accompanist somehow understands this too and skips with me. We're flowing pretty well, I guess.

**_Flowers fades,_**  
**_The fruits of summer fade,_**  
**_They have their seasons, so do we_**  
**_but please promise me, that sometimes_**  
**_you will think of me!_**

I sing some scales and draw out the "of me" just I had seen done in the movie. I guess it sounded okay. I didn't miss the note or anything. This song was even easier than the other one. I'm too wrapped up in my thoughts so I don't realize that there's still silence. It's been too long for that silence to be a good thing. When is it ever good anyway? If they really liked it, wouldn't they clap? Not a single sound comes forth. I decide that enough is enough and stalk off the stage. "Max, you have a very, very wide range." Mrs. Leekly says. It kind of sounds like she's awed. W-O-W that's all she can say? I have a wide range? What does that mean anyway?

"Errr... thanks?" I say... though it sort of comes out as a question... Mrs. Leekly finally shakes her head a little, (maybe she's still in a daze from my awful singing!) and regains her composure enough to STOP critiquing my singing.  
"Will you please read this part of the dialogue?" Okay. Reading, I can do this. I do a call and response with Mrs. Leekly. If I can't woo her with my singing I'll try and woo her with my acting. I pretend that I really am Christine Daae, an orphan, alone in an Opera house where no one really understands her. Except for the mysterious 'Ghost'.

"So callbacks will be next week sometime. I'll post the callback list on the online daily bulletin and on the announcement board in the office." She says with a smile. Her eyes are shining. Probably already seeing Lissa and Sam's standing ovation at the end of their opening night of Phantom. *Sigh. At this point, I just want to get out of here.

"Bye Mrs. Leekly. I'll see you tomorrow." I say softly. I walk softly down the steps of the stage and return to my seat to gather up by bags. Now the walk home. I'm only half realizing what I'm doing when I notice that there is another pair of eyes watching me pack up my things. I come back to the auditorium and see Fang just staring silently at me.

"Don't say anything. Can we just go, please?" I beg. I want to get out of there. I glance at Mrs. Leekly just to see her writing something hurriedly. She's probably crossing my name off the auditions list, or better yet, writing a warrant guaranteeing that I never step foot in the theater again. Fabulous. Fang follows my glance and just nods, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, solid black, of course.  
"You did an amazing job!" Sam calls from behind us. I look back give him a blank look and just say:

"Thanks." My reply is short and terse. I turn back around and head out of there.

"Hope to see you at callbacks." He says. I turn once more, give him the faint ghost of a smile, and then almost run out of there. There's only so much false hope and lies a girl can handle. Fang catches up to me and we walk in silence for a while. It's late and the sun's setting. Pretty soon it will be dark.

"You were amazing up there." He says, breaking the silence. I turn and give him a look of disbelief. Is he trying to be funny?

"Uh huh... yeah. Suuure I was." I say sarcastically.

"Max, you have the voice of an angel." He says. That's when I know he's joking. "The voice of an angel," coming out of those lips. HA! I start laughing hysterically.

"Please be serious!" I say between my fits of laughter. He just gives me a funny and innocent look. Wow, he will be the perfect actor for Raoul or the Phantom! That boy can act!

"Of course." I mutter. He's good at everything. We've reached the street where he has to fork off.

"Bye. I'll see you tomorrow." I say with a half-hearted smile.

"See ya." He says with a wave. And turns down the street. I watch him for a second and am about to turn toward home when I hear his voice again.

"I was being serious, you know." Huh, that liar. I shake my head with a genuine smile and make my way home.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**  
The next morning, I meet Max by the main road.

"Hey!" Max calls over to me as she sees me turn onto the road.

"Yo." I say back. That's me, the talkative one.

"So what did you think of last night? You were awesome. You'll definitely get in, if not a lead roll." She says with a small smile. Though I can see her eyes tighten a little as she says that. She seriously doesn't believe us. Her voice is so beautiful. I'm not just saying that either. It's not one of those boring perfect voices either. It's still perfect, but it's interesting, it's unique and different. Now, it's one of the things I love the most about her. _Whoa, love? Really Fang? _I shake my head to clear it. Well, I have to admit, yes I do think I love Max. No, not THAT way, I would never cheat on Lissa, I just 'love' her in a friendly way. She's so cool, I'm glad she moved here. Things used to be so boring without her.  
"Nah, you'll definitely get in too." I could tell Mrs. Leekly loved her. She's been waiting a long time to get a good female lead. I mean Lissa's good, but she has that well... "boring perfect voices". She can sing very well, but she doesn't put herself into the song. That's what differentiates Max from Lissa. And Max has a wider range, but besides that... yeah.

"Will you STOP with the lies? All of you think that you're protecting me by lying instead of telling me the truth. I know I suck at singing. I also know I will never be as good as you, or Sam, or Lissa. I can't sing to save my life, but really you don't need to try and be nice. I'm a big girl. I can handle the let down. It's okay." She says with a hint of annoyance in her tone. I know that inside she's probably seething, but I don't let that get to me.  
"Max, like I said last night. You don't suck. You're really good, you're voice is even better than Lissa's. I'm positive that you'll get a callback." I admit. I see her eyes widen slightly, a ghost of hope flickering in her eyes. Before they harden again and she turns away.

"No." She says in monotone. She quickens her pace, not that it changes anything. My long legs keep up with her easily.

"Yes." I say.

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes"

"No!"

"You want to bet?" I finally say. I'm now annoyed for some reason. Why won't she accept the fact that she's good? Totally and completely good.

"Yes!" She says. Wow, she really doesn't believe me.

"What do you want to bet?" I say.

"If I don't make the callbacks, I will never have to try out for another school production again." She says. Wow, this must really be getting to her.

"Okay." I say easily. "But, if you do get a callback, then you will try out for EVERY school production all the way till senior year. AND you have to join choir."

"That's a lot! Fine, but, if you get a callback, you have to join choir too. But only if I have to, unless you want to." She says. Okaaay. Max knows she has a lot to go against, but besides this request, she doesn't back down. I'm pretty sure Sam will be the lead so I don't really care about joining choir.

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good."

"Fine." This is getting us nowhere so I start walking to school. Callbacks should be up right now. We hurry towards the school buildings.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**  
Yeah right. Like I would ever get a callback. We continue on our way to the office where the daily announcements are posted on the board.

"Ready?" Fang asks as we stand in front of the door.

"Yep." I say confidently. We approach the board where a crisp white sheet of paper is pinned to the wall. A black mask is decorating the corner along with it at the top of the page in all caps is, **PHANTOM CALLBACKS**. Underneath that reads the following: **Tuesday, Sep. 7th. In the auditorium at 3:00pm. For the roles Phantom/Raoul: Sam Lawrence and Nicholas Walker**. Then after that, **for the role of Christine Daae: Lissa Greene and** ... O.O (O-M-G) THAT CANNOT SAY WHAT I THINK IT SAYS. In clear black print two words stare back at my astonished face, mocking me.

**MAXIMUM RIDE.**

"You have a callback." Fang says with a sly grin. I just continue staring. Crap!

**What has Max gotten herself into? O.O Callbacks are coming up next! If you want to see what happens, continue reading. We got more surprises coming up! If you have any questions, suggestions, or if you just feel like leaving a comment - feel free. :) Hope you liked this chapter!**

**Fly on!**  
**NarutoLover7890 and Mx2Blue326**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey Everyone! **

**Mx2Blue here again, hope you don't mind. First of all in response to ****Bigtimebooks****, just wanted to say that me, as well as NarutoLover7890, were in our school's production of Oklahoma this summer! We had so much fun! You'll have a blast! Also thank you so much for replying... for like, every chapter! You're awesome! As are all of you too - I know there are more of you that comment every chapter too! Your comments make our days and yes, we do read them and appreciate them! What makes it even better is that we don't even ask you to leave comments! So thank you again and WE 3 U! This chapter is long too and we thank you for all your cooperation because we, well I haven't updated in like 10,000 years. So thank you all for bearing with us!**

****One more note. If you would like to see MAX'S HALLOWEEN COSTUME then go to my profile and there should be two links there – just ignore the other model and Taylor Swift (but we actually really love her). So yeah.**

**Disclaimer:**

**Look into the mirror. Do you look like James Patterson or Andrew Lloyd Webber? Yeah, neither do I.**

**ENJOY!**

**Chapter 9:**

**Max's POV**

My head was killing me the next day. I honestly had no intention of ever getting up on a stage again in my life. But here I was, on a stage, with Miss Leekley's face staring at mine with her dazzling white teeth.

"Are you ready to SIIIING?" Miss Leekley's singing voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Um... I really think that you might have me confused with someone else here." I tried to explain.

"What are you talking about, silly? Maximum Ride, right? Well since you're a little nervous, why doesn't Lisaa go first?" She was a little too full of enthusiasm for my liking. Lissa climbed up the stage with confidence. Ugh. How can she even LIKE being here?

"Please sing "All I Ask of You" with..." She says consulting her clipboard. "Nicholas". Once Fang was on the stage she nodded to the pianist. She was back here, again!

Fang started singing in his dark, sexy... errrr... voice.

**_No more talk of darkness,_**

**_Forget these wide-eyed fears._**

**_I'm here, nothing can harm you - my words will warm and calm you. _**

**_Let me be your freedom, _**

**_let daylight dry your tears. _**

**_I'm here with you, beside you, _**

**_to guard you and to guide you..._**

Lissa trilled in her beautiful voice. I can't believe that Mrs. Leekly wanted me to compete with THAT voice!

**_Say you love me every waking moment, _**

**_turn my head with talk of summertime... _**

**_Say you need me with you now and always... _**

**_Promise me that all you say is true - _**

**_that's all I ask of you..._**

Fang comes back in and sings:

**_Let me be your shelter, _**

**_let me be your light. _**

**_You're safe: _**

**_No one will find you - _**

**_your fears are far behind you..._**

Lissa with her perfect voice continues.

**_All I want is freedom, _**

**_a world with no more night..._**

**_and you, always beside me, _**

**_to hold me and to hide me..._**

For some stupid reason, these next few words Fang sings really annoy me...

**_Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..._**

**_let me lead you from your solitude..._**

**_Say you need me with you here, beside you..._**

**_anywhere you go, let me go too - _**

**_Christine, that's all I ask of you..._**

Lissa tags on.

**_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..._**

**_say the word and I will follow you..._**

**In unison they sing:**

**_Share each day with me, _**

**_each night, _**

**_each morning..._**

Lissa begs:

**_Say you love me..._**

Fang assures her:

**_You know I do..._**

By now I feel like ripping my hair out, one by one. But in harmony and unison they sing again:

**_Love me - that's all I ask of you..._**

There's a long musical break here, where they are supposed to be passionately kissing but they just stand there. Finally, the end with a super high... (On Lissa's part anyway.)

**_Anywhere you go let me go too... _**

**_Love me - that's all I ask of you..._**

Mrs. Leekly and Sam burst into applause. I just sit there. Then I realize I should clap... hehe. But even though her voice was good... I felt that they were just singing it. Not performing it you know? They didn't even look at each other. And they call themselves "boy-friend and girl-friend"! … Not that I care or anything... *sigh. "Alright! Let's give Lissa and Nick's voices a little break. Sam and Max... you're up!" Mrs. Leekly's voice almost squeals with delight.

"Are you sure Mrs. Leekly? You sure you didn't mix me up with a good senior or something? I mean I have had any experience in this and I'm only a freshman!" I kinda get out in one breath.

"Oh, well Max, to tell you the truth, I think you have a wonderful voice. And even if you're that young and you've had no experience before, then that's OK. Alright? Just try your best." She says with a gentle smile. Ahhhh... now I feel bad. I catch Fang's eyes as I mount the stairs to the stage and he gives me a slight nod. I take a deep breath and walk over to where Sam is waiting.

"Please sing the same song, "All I Ask of You". Okay? You may begin when you're ready."

"You ready?" Sam whispers to me.

"Not even a little bit." I reply. "Let's go." He smiles at me then nods at the accompanist. The music starts filling the air and I look out at the audience. It's a good thing that she was supposed to feel scared at this point because I know that's what my face looks like.

Sam starts in his deep, and sure voice. The perfect voice for a gentleman of that time. It's not as dark as Fang made his voice but more "handsome", shall I say. **(A/N: Sorry for repeating the song... just thought it would be better to show the difference between them.)**

**_No more talk of darkness,_**

**_Forget these wide-eyed fears._**

**_I'm here, nothing can harm you - my words will warm and calm you._**

Sam comes to me and takes my hands in his. At first, I'm startled and freeze up. Then I remind myself that he's just acting. I relax my features into a calm, gentle, smile. Ah... first loves.

**_Let me be your freedom, _**

**_let daylight dry your tears. _**

**_I'm here with you, beside you, _**

**_to guard you and to guide you..._**

Uh oh... my turn! I squeeze his hands and stare deeply into his eyes as I sing.

**_Say you love me every waking moment, _**

**_turn my head with talk of summertime... _**

**_Say you need me with you now and always..._**

I look down then back up at him, pleading him with my face and eyes. I know it sounds hokey, but I wasn't Max anymore. I was a young girl in France with her childhood sweetheart. Both of them, declaring each other.

**_Promise me that all you say is true - _**

**_that's all I ask of you..._**

Sam enveloping me in a hug seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

**_Let me be your shelter, _**

**_let me be your light. _**

**_You're safe: _**

**_No one will find you - _**

**_your fears are far behind you..._**

I explain to him, pleading.

**_All I want is freedom, _**

**_a world with no more night..._**

**_and you, always beside me, _**

**_to hold me and to hide me..._**

Holding me at arms length, he sings:

**_Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..._**

**_let me lead you from your solitude..._**

**_Say you need me with you here, beside you..._**

**_anywhere you go, let me go too - _**

**_Christine, that's all I ask of you..._**

I was actually having a lot of fun. I answer him with:

**_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..._**

**_say the word and I will follow you..._**

**In perfect harmony we sing.**

**_Share each day with me, _**

**_each night, _**

**_each morning..._**

I beg him, this time.

**_Say you love me..._**

He sings with a smile and twinkle in his eye. My answering smile is genuine.

**_You know I do..._**

We sing to each other.

**_Love me - that's all I ask of you..._**

Now's the part when we were supposed to be kissing... I hope we don't go that far! Instead he scoops me up and spins me in a circle, smiling evilly the whole time. That's when I know he's joking. Before we need to sing he sets my feet back on the stage but keeps his arm twined around my waist. I take a deep breath and just go for it. (That high note I mean... what were you thinking?)

**_Anywhere you go let me go too... _**

**_Love me - that's all I ask of you..._**

We come back to reality when it ends. He gives me a hug and a smile. I had enjoyed myself, surprisingly. Oh, what the hey? I smiled back at him.

Mrs. Leekly and Fang applause this time. Lissa is just staring at us with her mouth open. Oh right, this is the first time she's heard me sing. I decided that her stares and their applause had gone on long enough and made my way off the stage.

"Well, that was just lovely! You looked so great together!" Mrs. Leekly said playfully, wiggling her eyebrows. She's such a kid! I steal a glance at Sam awkwardly. He's blushing and looking at the floor. Okaaay. I go sit down next to Fang. He gives me one of his signature weird looks. I've never seen this one before. He's kind of making an effort not to clench his jaw. His eyes are a little tight. Must have had some bad sushi at lunch. Whatever.

"Okay! Sam, may I ask that you and Lissa go together now?" Lissa jumps to her feet and makes her way to the stage. Sam nods and heads up on the stage too.

"What song are we going to sing, Mrs. Leekly?" Lissa asks.

"Point of No Return. I'm still deciding what pairing will work the best." She answers with a smile.

"Oh! I love this song!" I whisper to Fang excitedly. His face is back to normal, he just smirks at me. He's hopeless. I roll my eyes at him. Dork. The music brings me back to reality and I focus back on their performance.

Sam starts with:

**_You have come here _**

**_In pursuit of your deepest urge _**

**_In pursuit of that wish which till now _**

**_Has been silent _**

**_Silent._**

He brings his finger up to cover his lips, a sly look in his eye.

**_I have brought you _**

**_That our passions may fuse and merge _**

**_In your mind you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defenses _**

**_Completely succumbed to me _**

**_Now you are here with me _**

**_No second thoughts _**

**_You've decided _**

**_Decided._**

With more intensity, he sings.

**_Past the point of no return _**

**_No backward glances _**

**_Our games of make-believe are at an end. _**

**_Past all thought of "if" or "when" _**

**_No use resisting _**

**_Abandon thought and let the dream descend _**

**_What raging FIRE shall flood the soul _**

**_What rich desire unlocks its door _**

**_What sweet seduction lies before us? _**

**_Past the point of no return _**

**_The final threshold _**

**_What warm unspoken secrets _**

**_Will we learn _**

**_Beyond the point of no return?_**

Lissa starts her half of the song. You can tell that she was trying to get into it and react to the words. It was kind of over dramatized... she was trying a little too hard... you all know the type.

**_You have brought me _**

**_To that moment when words run dry _**

**_To that moment when speech disappears _**

**_Into silence _**

**_Silence. _**

**_I have come here, _**

**_Hardly knowing the reason why _**

**_In my mind I've already imagined _**

**_Our bodies entwining _**

**_Defenseless and silent, _**

**_Now I am here with you _**

**_No second thoughts _**

**_I've decided _**

**_Decided. _**

**_Past the point of no return _**

**_No going back now _**

**_Our passion play has now at last begun. _**

**_Past all thought of right or wrong _**

**_One final question _**

**_How long should we two wait before we're one? _**

**_When will the blood begin to race _**

**_The sleeping bud burst into bloom _**

**_When will the flames at last CONSUME us?_**

She tries to make her voice sound husky and seductive, but her voice is just too sweet. But anyway, together, they sing.

**_Past the point of no return _**

**_The final threshold _**

**_The bridge is crossed_**

**_So stand and watch it burn _**

**_We've passed the point of no return._**

We all clap for them. Overall, it was pretty good. It's just that once I get into something I tend to get kinda competitive.

"Great job! Okay. Max and Nick. Same thing!" Mrs. Leekly commands. I give Sam and Lissa a smile as we pass them on our way up. I'm not that nervous but then when the music starts and I look at who I'm singing with, I realize, oh shoot. I'm not singing with the guy I thought I was singing with. Fang eyes was normally playful, and sarcastic. Now they were dead serious. A thrill of fear went through me. Sheesh... I gotta stop doing this - I get waaaay too in character.

Fang starts singing. I turn away trying to remember how to breath again. And think again...

**_You have come here _**

**_In pursuit of your deepest urge _**

**_In pursuit of that wish which till now _**

**_Has been silent _**

**_Silent._**

He puts his finger to his lips too... but for some reason, when he does it, it's more regal than when Sam did. He was no longer my best friend. He was the Ghost of the Opera House. His voice rises with the lyrics and he takes slow steps towards me. Like a dark panther approaching it's prey. No clue how that came into my mind but it did - deal with it.

**_I have brought you _**

**_That our passions may fuse and merge _**

**_In your mind you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defenses _**

**_Completely succumbed to me _**

**_Now you are here with me _**

**_No second thoughts _**

**_You've decided _**

**_Decided._**

Now he's right in front of me. I have to look up to see his face. He is dead serious. Staring deeply into my eyes. I realized that Christine must have loved him too. Somewhere deep in her subconscious.. She was just afraid. Releasing me from his gaze he stalks his way around me, I'm frozen on the spot.

**_Past the point of no return _**

**_No backward glances _**

**_Our games of make-believe are at an end. _**

**_Past all thought of "if" or "when" _**

**_No use resisting _**

**_Abandon thought and let the dream descend_**

In his dark, voice, he sings:

**_What raging FIRE shall flood the soul _**

**_What rich desire unlocks its door _**

**_What sweet seduction lies before us?_**

Bowing slightly, he grabs my hand, and brings it up to his slyly smiling face.

_**Past the point of no return**_

**_The final threshold_**

**_What warm unspoken secrets_**

**_Will we learn_**

_****__Beyond the point of no return?_P

It's my turn. I take my hand away from his. Shaking my head, as if, make that, to clear it from my muddled thoughts, I begin.

**_You have brought me _**

**_To that moment when words run dry _**

**_To that moment when speech disappears _**

**_Into silence _**

**_Silence._**

I look to him as I say "silence". Shaking my head and lifting my shoulders into a slight shrug, again I continue.

**_I have come here, _**

**_Hardly knowing the reason why _**

**_In my mind I've already imagined _**

**_Our bodies entwining _**

**_Defenseless and silent, _**

**_Now I am here with you _**

**_No second thoughts _**

**_I've decided _**

**_Decided._**

I detect the change in the music about to happen and nod and look seductively at him. As if I was giving into him. In a husky voice, that I happily know Lissa would never be able to pull off, I sing.

**_Past the point of no return _**

**_No going back now _**

**_Our passion play has now at last begun. _**

**_Past all thought of right or wrong _**

**_One final question _**

**_How long should we two wait before we're one?_**

Fang comes and wraps his arms around me. Spinning out of his embrace, I circle around to the other side of the stage.

**_When will the blood begin to race _**

**_The sleeping bud burst into bloom _**

**_When will the flames at last CONSUME us?_**

"Consume" sounds desperate coming from my voice. We sing in perfect unison:

**_Past the point of no return _**

**_The final threshold _**

**_The bridge is crossed_**

**_So stand and watch it burn _**

**_We've passed the point of no return._**

His wraps one arm around my waist. And with his other hand Fang takes mine and puts it to his cheek. Staring into his dark eyes, I leave my hand there until the music ends. Then I drop my hand and take a few steps away. Wow. That was awkward. There's silence in the auditorium again. I turn to go off the stage when Mrs. Leekly's voice stops me.

"That was amazing." She says, awe in her voice.

"Uh... thanks." I say softly. I go to the stairs, Fang hot on my heels.

"Okay, so, the final cast list should be up sometime soon okay?" Mrs. Leekly says. I nod and I almost sprint out of there to get my stuff from my locker. My face felt really hot. It must've just been the lights in the auditorium. Wait... were the lights even on? I was just about to question my memories when my locker door slammed and Sam was standing there, eyes fixated on me.

"What? Are you wondering how and why I got a call back? Well, same here." I sounded a bit cold, but he had a 'so how did my little Max-y get into the school play?' written all over his face.

"Hah! No, no, you've got me all wrong. I actually knew you were going to get a callback." He said with a sly grin.

"Right." I responded not looking at him. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and started walking away. But of course, he started following. Just what I wanted. NOT.

"So, Max..." he started saying. "I just want to tell you how awesome I thought you did and I wanted to know if you would like to go-"

"Hey Max." Fang interrupted Sam in the middle of his heart-felt speech. My hero! I just stared at him waiting for him to say something about how weird rehearsal was, but no. "Do you wanna go study at my house?"

"Oh sure. I'm really lost in social studies right now. _Dates are not my thing." _I tried to explain to both Fang and Sam. I really don't think Sam caught on.

"Oh, okay, well I'll catch ya later then Max!" Sam smiled and went ahead of us.

"What was tha-"

"Nothing." I abruptly answered Fang. I didn't really feel like explaining it to him for some reason...

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

Well, she really wasn't kidding when she said she wasn't good with dates... When I asked her when the Civil War was, she said 1920s. We were gonna to need some time... but more time with Max is great! I mean, you know. Since we can help each other. With homework. Right? And not to mention her voice. She's really good. Why can't she see it when everyone else can?

"Could you explain the Great Depression again?" she laughed. Thank God she was kidding. I would've had a heart attack right there. "Hey! Fang! Halloween is coming up!" she yelled. Wow, lots of energy all of a sudden.

"Hah, yeah. Halloween is pretty great." I mused. I can't really say that Halloween has had the best memories for me with all the annoying kids running around in costumes, but this year would be different.

"Let's go to the Halloween dance!" She says with bright eyes.

"Uh... okay. But I don't dress up." I say drawing the line right there.

"Oh yeees you dooooo! Nudge sings as she comes skipping into the room.

"No I don't." I say.

"But you will!" She sings with her hands clasped together at her heart. Wow. Real heartfelt. I just roll my eyes. She's never gotten me into a costume before, there's no reason that this year will be any different.

"Oh and Max! I have just the thing for you! You'll look amazing!" She says with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Uh... I'm with Fang on this one... I don't do costumes either." She says. Now she kinda looks scared. I chuckle. Nudge shoots me a look.

"Oh, don't worry Fang. I'm coming for you too." She says. Okay, now I'm scared, too.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Let me pick your Halloween costume!" She begs, jumping up and down.

"Nudge, I don't dress up." I say with a sigh.

"No! This won't be one of those store bought costumes! I promise!" She says.

"I don't want to dress up!" I whine.

"I'm not taking "no" for an answer." She says with a grin.

"Yeah... I thought so." I was so tired I decided that I didn't want to argue. I'll figure out how to get out of it later. Nudge was jumping up and down again. She smelled an easy victory. "What do you have in mind?" I ask warily.

"Oh, you'll love it! I promise."

"I'm guessing you're not gonna tell me what it is?" I raise an eyebrow. She nods with her huge 'definitely not' smile. Oh, Nudge.

*ooOoo*

Before I realize, I'm back in school taking my test. '_During what years did the American Civil War take place?'_ read question number 5. Oh! I totally know this one! I write down, 'The American Civil War took place during the years 1861 - 1865.' Fang would be so proud! This might be the first and last test that I'm sure I got 100% on, so I let it sink in as I wait for my classmates to finish. As soon as the last person turns in their test, the school bell rings and I'm off to find Fang. After Fang is the cast list. Oh, joy.

So, I grab Fang and we stalk our way over to the choir room door where the cast list is posted. The list has the same mask on it as the callbacks list. This is what it said:

**PHANTOM OF THE OPERA CAST LIST**

_CAST:_

_Amanda Evans - Madame Giry_

_Lissa Greene - Meg Giry_

_(To be understudied by: Samantha James)_

_Jessica Stevens - Carlotta_

_Maximum Ride - Christine Daae_

_(To be understudied by: Lissa Greene)_

_Nicholas Walker - Phantom_

_Sam Lawrence - Raoul_

The list went on and on, but was she serious? I mean, me? As Christine? There's no way in hell that I could pull something like that off. This show is going to go down hill the second I get on stage. _Wonderful. _I stare at Fang and he says that he told me so, so I just punch him in the shoulder. This makes him smirk. _Why? _This is going to be disastrous. It will end up just like the REAL Phantom of the Opera! Crapola.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Everyone was congratulating me today. If one more person said "Wow! I didn't know you could sing!" OR "Congrats! That's so cool! I can't believe you got the part!" I will scream! I'm so sick of it. At lunch I grab a Cesar salad and a sour lemonade to match my sour mood. I plop myself down at a table and stare sullenly at the wall. Fang joins me a minute later along with Iggy. Fang reminds me of Lissa. Actually, Lissa was really nice about it. Even though she got the part of Meg and the understudy to the main roll, she was pretty cool about it. She even offered to help me practice and stuff.

"Hey guys!" Lissa says giving Fang a one armed hug and a quick peck on the lips. He smiles at her. I just keep staring at the wall.

"You okay Max?" Iggy says with a grin.

"I'm fine." I say tersely. He is the most annoying person I have ever met on the planet!

"So, if I said cong-" He begins.

"If you say that then I guess you don't value your life." I say accompanied by my signature death glare. He sees me and backs off. Smart move.

"What's wrong Max?" Lissa asks.

"If one more person says the 'c-word' I swear I will scream." I reply.

"Oh." She says. "What's the 'c-word'?" She whispers to Fang.

"Oh... just 'congratulations'." He replies. I slowly turn to him. He was so going to get it!

"Fang... I'll give you a three second head start. Use it wisely." I threaten. He takes one look at me. "One..." And then he starts running. I smile, I will enjoy this. "Two-three!" I say as fast as possible and tear after him. Lissa and Iggy's laughter disappears behind me. I have a boy to kill.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Did I ever catch him? No not really. But by the time that he let me, I was so tired that I didn't even care. I was also laughing my head off. Anyway. Rehearsals have started and Nudge says my costume is coming along good... yeah. Still haven't thought my way out of that one yet. Anyway. It's two days till Halloween. So yes, it's been a while since then. Right now, I'm getting my fitting for my costume. I have to wear a blindfold.

"Nudge, I really don't want to do this!" I plead.

"Maximum Valencia Ride I did NOT slave over this costume for weeks just to have it gone to waste!" She screams in my ear. Ow. "Besides, I've gotten Fang to agree to it." She mutters.

"You did?" I start to smile.

"Yep. So you have to do it too!" She says.

"Do I get to know what he is?" I ask.

"Not even a little bit." She replies.

"Awesome." I sigh.

"Okay. Now step into here. Put your arms here and here. Perfect." Wow this thing is heavy. "And now put on this and this. Perfect. Okay. I'll just take that in there. And make sure that's set there." She then proceeds to pin here and there... poking me a few times, I must admit.

"Ouch! Nudge! Prick me with that again and I swear I will take this blind fold off!" I threaten.

"Sorry! Sorry!" She says. "Okay it's perfect. Now be careful when you take it off." I was so focused on the pins that I didn't realize that there was a lot more room by my legs then I had bargained for.

"Nudge?" I ask. My tone is strained.

"Yes?" She asks innocently.

"Where are the pants to this thing?"

"Hm?" She says absentmindedly.

"The pants. You know the thing with that has two leg holes? Not one?" I'm freaking out by the end of it.

"They are ummm... not done yet. I'll have them for you though. Promise." She says. I breathe in relief. Okay. Haha. No reason to be freaking out.

"So remember, come to my house on Friday right after school!" She says.

"Okay. Wait, the dance is at 7:00pm." I say confused.

"Yeah... I just need time for the final fitting." She says.

"Okay." I agree. This should be good.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

Today is Halloween. And I've got to dress up tonight in a costume. I'm taking Lissa to the dance. Iggy is going with this other girl in our grade names Tess. Max is just tagging along with us. Right now Lissa and I are hanging out in one-deserted hallways before class. Her head is in my lap and I'm playing with her hair.

"So what are you going to be tonight?" She asks me.

"I'm not sure. Nudge won't let me see until tonight." I say.

"Ah... I'm going to be an angel." She says with a smile.

"Wait, you aren't one already?" She asks me.

"Aww you're so sweet!" And sits up to give me a kiss. Next thing I knew we were interrupted by a slight cough. We break apart and see Max standing awkwardly with her Biology book in her hand. Right, we all have science next period.

"Hey." Lissa says with a small smile.

"Uhhh... sorry for err... interrupting. I'll go to the... uh, library. See you guys in class." She says almost running away. I wipe Lissa's lip-gloss off my lips. As much as I like kissing Lissa, her lip-gloss drives me crazy. I don't know how girls stand having it on their lips on purpose. That's one thing I like about Max. She never wears any makeup and she looks good without it too. Lissa is pretty, not as naturally pretty as Max, but still pretty. She, on the other hand, won't leave her house without her makeup on.

When the final bell rings, Max and I meet at the front of the school. Our parents pick up the younger kids, so it's fine for us to walk home alone. Nudge, for once, walks home with us rather than stay with her friends. Though this time, she brings one of them with her. Her name is Ella Martinez. She's a pretty, friendly Hispanic girl, but not the total blabbermouth that Nudge is.

"Hey Max!" Nudge says with a huge grin. "This is my best friend Ella Martinez." She says.

"Oh, hey. I've heard a lot about you." Max says with a smile. I think she could tell that Ella was quieter than Nudge.

"Me too. It's nice to meet you." Ella replies with a smile.

"What's Nudge making you dress up as?" I ask her.

"Ummm... I'm going to be a bee."

"Cool." I say with a smile. That costume suites her.

"Thanks." She replies blushing. Hmm... I look away pretending I didn't notice. I don't get teenage girls.

"What are you going to be, Nudge?" Max asks with a sweet smile.

"A gypsy." She says. Hm. I guess that does match her.

"What are you going to be Fang?" Ella asks me.

"Why don't you ask Nudge that question." I say wryly.

"I'm making their costumes... they don't know what they are yet!" She squeals with delight. By that time were almost home. We're all getting ready at our house.

"Fang I want you to go hang out and whatever you boys do until 6:15pm. Then I'll give you your costume. Right now, I need Max." She commands. I chuckle, I'm letting myself be pushed around by my little sister.

"Okay, your highness." She beams back at me. Her face says "Yep, that's right." I go to my room and pick up my guitar. I haven't played in such a long time. Maybe I can convince Max to sing with me sometime... then I start strumming.

*ooOoo*

**Nudge's POV**

I have the perfect look for Max and Fang tonight! I mean Lissa's OK, but Max and Fang - together. Now THAT would be a good match. A match made in heaven, in fact. So I decided that Max was going to wear a dress. Yes, I know I'll probably be killed for it later, but it's just too pretty! I can't wait to see Fang's expression when he sees her in her dress tonight. It will be priceless!

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

I think my whole body has been buffed and polished. After Nudge nearly throws me in the shower, my skin is covered in different lotion and cream. They even waxed my eyebrows - talk about OW! My face is being made up right now. Nudge promises it will look "natural" but I don't know. She covered my whole face with powder and is now attempting to re-draw out my features, I think. How am I supposed to know? I'm not allowed to look at the mirror. I'm facing the shower. Ella is working on my hair. She keeps picking up little bits of it so I think that she's curling it or something. Right now Nudge is rubbing different stuff all over the lid of my eye. At least I get to relax a little because my eyes are closed. It even tickles a little bit. I have this horrible urge to laugh.

"Open!" She says. I do as she says. "Close!" I do as she says again. Sigh, will this never end? Finally she seems satisfied with whatever she's doing. I thought that was bad... boy was I wrong! I swear Nudge was trying to poke my eye out with this stupid little invention called eyeliner. She also curls my eyelashes. Max's Fun Fact #67: Never jerk your head back when someone has an eyelash curler on you. It HURTS! Blush goes on my cheeks.

"You know, you have the most gorgeous bone structure I have ever seen! You cheekbones are perfect! I'm so jealous." She whines.

"You're are really pretty Max." Ella pipes in. I flush in embarrassment.

"Nah, you guys are gorgeous. I'm nothing." I say.

"Oh, you won't be 'nothing' after we're through with you!" Nudge says, obviously exhilarated. But then, she's back to all business.

"Pucker your lips." Nudge commands. "Not like that! Like this!" She exclaims. "Haven't you ever kissed someone?" No, but I decide not to mention that. "Okay good. Now lahk 'his." She says moving her lips so they're taunt and wide.

"Dho I rehee hah ta dah 'his?" I ask her.

"Yes." She says with a determined nod. "No rub them together like this. Up and down now, NOT side to side." She reprimands.

"There, happy?" I ask, irritated.

"Yes." I can hear the smile on her lips. She moves around to where Ella has finally finished doing God-Knows-What to my hair.

"You know, sorry to disappoint you, but if you think you can actually do something with my hair or my face, your mistaken. My face is so plain and boring and so is my hair. Brown and brown. Seriously. You won't get anything out of it. But thanks for trying!" I say.

"Shut up." Nudge snaps. "I can't believe you doubt us so. Your hair is beautiful. It's long, silky, naturally highlighted, and thick." Touching her own locks she says wistfully. "And straight."

"Yeah... It's straight as a board. Boring!" I say impatiently. She has piled my hair into an elaborate array on the top of my head. She pulls a few curls around to frame my face as well as a few to drape along the side of my neck.

"You may not look in the mirror until the whole costume is on alright?" She says.

"Okay." I promise. I'm kind of scared to look in the mirror, what would I find?

"Let's go to my room. I have your costume there. You must close your eyes until your all finished getting dressed." She says. Nudge, Ella, and I all proceed to her room. I strip to my underwear. She bring me a white cami to put on. Then a ankle length skirt. Then comes the surprise. I feel as though I'm in a cardboard box. A really tight strapless cardboard box. Then the pulling begins.

"Nudge! What the hell is this?" My breath is a little short from the pulling.

"A corset." She replies easily.

"Really?" I yelp.

"Yes. Don't be such a baby, it's not that tight." She scolds. Now that I have a second, it's true. I'm not dying. I can still breathe, if I take really shallow breaths.

"Close your eyes!" Nudge says. I didn't realize I had opened them. I close them again.

"Hold my shoulder and step into this." She says guiding my hand to her shoulder. Ella must be dealing with the rest of the costume. I step into this, 'thing' and guide it up my body. The whole thing ends with a satisfying "zzzzip", it sure is heavy! Then they have me hold out my arms. Silky fabric is eased up my arms. It must have elastic or some sort of clip that held in on. Then there's silence in the room. Not even a breath.

"Can I open my eyes now?" I ask, annoyed.

"Max, you're beautiful!" Ella half whispers in awe. I open my eyes and turn to them. I'm about to start ranting when I see someone in the mirror. She is gorgeous. No joke. Her hair is curled to perfection. Most of it is piled on the top of her head but a few strands hang down on her neck and right shoulder. Her bright chocolate brown eyes are huge and are framed with thick black lashes. Her cheeks are delicate pink which make her look like she's eternally blushing. Her dark red lips are a full and slightly parted. My eyes travel down to her dress. It's a deep blood red silk with gold embroidery. Her sleeves are not attached to the dress but high on her arms. The tops are the same red as the strapless dress but gold the same color as the embroidery is layered under the red. Her creamy white shoulders are bare. She looks tall, slender, and graceful. She looked like she stepped right out of one of those childhood fairy tales.

"Woah." I say. The girl in the mirror says it with me. Nudge is jumping up and down in delight. Ella's is just staring. Nudge runs to her dresser and pulls off a dainty gold choker. There were red crystals mixed into it. Then she puts on some matching earrings. She stuck a gold ruby ring onto my right ring finger. Lastly she gets a gold and red studded headband that she sticks on the base of my hair. There's a chain of gold hanging from it as well.

"Perfect." She says simply. That seems to be her favorite word when it comes to me.

"It is, I say. I can't believe you made this!" I'm having trouble remembering that the girl in the mirror was me. She hands me a gold shawl to cover my bare shoulders, it was going to be cold tonight.

"You really like it? I mean, I kind of had images of a Civil War Era or Renaissance ball gown. But I moderated it with the detachable sleeves and the silk." Nudge explains.

"I love it! Thank you so much!" I say with a hug to her and Ella. There's that awed look on their faces again. I smile at my reflection in the mirror. I guess she does look brilliant with a smile gracing her features. Nudge goes to the back of her closet and hands me some gold heels. They actually weren't that high. I think I might be able to handle them. I guess she knew stilettos + me = a trip to the emergency room.

"I gotta get Fang his costume. You just hang here. Try not to mess anything up." She says with a slightly pained look on her face. Haha. As if I couldn't even be alone for a few minutes without ruining the dress and my hair and makeup. Okay, maybe I couldn't but... you don't have to rub it in!

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

The clock said it was 6:30pm. It turns out, my costume was Dracula, except without the fangs. I had the floor length cloak (black silk on the outside, lined with blood red silk on the inside), white ruffled shirt, bow tie, everything. It turned out pretty good anyway. Nudge gelled my hair back so I looked like one of those creepy villains. It suited me perfectly.

"Are you guys ready to go?" I called from the parlor.

"Give us a second!" Nudge yells from her bedroom. What is taking them so long? Girls have some serious issues. Good thing Max isn't like that. Even with Lissa, it's refreshing to have someone who doesn't do what every other girl does. Though I must admit, it's cute when they get all dolled up for you, I know I normally like it when Lissa does that for our dates.

"Hi Fang! I got a lot of candy!" Angel, Gazzy, and Ari comes swooping in the door with my Mom and Dad. Max's parents were at a Halloween party so we were watching Ari. They were coming back from trick-or-treating. I guess to unload the candy and go out again or to pass out candy. We did this every year for as long as I could remember. Last year I walked with them. (Not in costume, I might add.) Angel is dressed in her princess costume. Uh... Sleeping Beauty I think... right? That's the pink one? With her gold locks and bright blue eyes, she looks so dang adorable. Gazzy attaches himself to my leg. He's the red power ranger. Ari chases him around me, he's the blue one.

"Hey guys!" I say with a grin. Nothing can melt my heart like their little smiling faces.

"Do you like my costume?" Angel asks excitedly.

"What about mine?" Gazzy yells.

"You both look very nice, better than me, in fact." Angel smiles up at me and Gazzy crosses his arms over his skinny chest but I know he's happy.

"What are you supposed to be?" My Dad asks.

"I guess Dracula, but without the Fangs." I say with a grin.

"You look kind of like a modern version of a Renaissance man's clothes. Or possibly the Civil War - definitely south, with the immaculate hair?" My mom ponders. Now that I look down, I guess yes, that could be so.

"I don't know Nudge made it... so... you never know."

My thoughts are elsewhere when Nudge comes running down the staircase. She's in a skimpy little gypsy dress. She has gold hoops and bangles everywhere. High heeled black boots and a purple scarf around her wild hair. Her makeup was very heavy. It matched her perfectly. Though it was kind of a shock for me, she looked like a 16 year old. I guess I didn't exactly look 15 in my costume. But I'm a guy, it's different.

"Oh, hey Mom, Dad, Gazzy, Angel, what's up?" Nudge said easily.

"You look so beautiful!" My Mom exclaims. "You made this?"

"Yep. Like it?" She asks.

"Of course. It's great! Way better than you're store bought costume last year." She says with a grin.

Ella comes down next. She looks, how would girls say this?, 'cute' in her bee costume. Her hair was kind of half up and half down. Her side bangs falling in her face. She had long black fingerless gloves and black see through wings. Her headband had some yellow and black antennae.

"Cool costume." I commented. Her makeup wasn't so heavy so I could see the blush creep up on her cheeks.

"You know you shouldn't do that." A voice whispers behind me.

"Do what?" I turn and see the most beautiful woman I have ever seen standing there. Her beautiful brown hair is in a disarray of curls. Her neck and shoulders were exposed and at her throat lay a gold and red necklace. Her gown was the same red as the inside of my cape. It was strapless and ended at the floor. I didn't feel like Fang anymore, not with this Southern Belle standing beside me. My eyes traveled up her neck and I saw that she had a slight flush on her cheeks and her eyes were bright with excitement. The dress was very flattering. Showing off her curves and slim body. She normally wore jeans and a t-shirt, who knew?

"Hey." My eyes were drawn to her half-smiling lips. They were perfect, just like the rest of her.

"Hey." I replied when I could speak again.

"I know, Nudge overdid herself." Max says with a sigh.

"Doesn't she always?" I ask with a slight chuckle. It was easier when she was talking. Then I could remember that it was Max I was speaking to, not some girl from the 1800's. I turn and see Nudge beaming with pride. Ella is just in awe. Angel's eyes are as big as dinner plates. Gazzy's are too. Mom and Dad are smiling at us.

"Are you a princess?" Angel steps forward and asks her.

"Umm.. no I don't think so." Max replies with a smile.

"Of course she isn't! She's my sister!" Ari pipes up.

"You look gorgeous, honey." My mom says. Max smiles bashfully at her.

"You two match." My dad comments. We both look at each other then at Nudge. She just shrugs. Gazzy comes to my side and pulls on my shirtsleeve. He gestures for me to bend over.

"She's really pretty. I like Max." He whispers in my ear. Great, my brother is now love struck for my best friend. Wonderful. I chuckle at him.

"I think she's a little old for you, buddy." I say giving him a sympathetic smirk. He just sighs, and walks dejectedly over to Angel, AH, young love.

"Ready to go?" I ask Max. She nods and gathers up her skirt.

"We can drive you, it's cold. We'll take the kids, meaning Angel, Ari, and Gazzy, trick-or-treating again or pass out candy afterwards. We'll drop you off first then we'll drop them off at the party. " The Halloween Dance was only for the highschoolers. Ella and Nudge were going to go to a friend's Halloween party.

"Okay, thanks!" Max says with a smile. When we reach the car I open the door for her and bow a little.

"Madame." I say with a grin.

"Why _thank you_ kind sir." She replies, matching my grin. Everyone else piles in and we head to the school.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Fang looked so handsome in his costume. His hair wasn't hanging in his face so you could see all of his features. He kept looking at me with this weird look in his eyes. _It's just the dress and the makeup. _I remind myself. I mean I know I look really different. I hope it's not too much. As soon as we enter the gym the party is in full swing. The music dims just as the DJ is announces that he's going to put on a slow song. As if in a movie people start to stare. They whisper to themselves and poke each other, pointing to the entrance to the gym.

"What are they staring at?" I whisper to Fang. He shrugs and walks forward. I follow him unsure of what to do. Didn't these people have lives? Someone has enough sense to start the music again. Everyone sort of resumes dancing but a lot of people still shot glances at us as we walked by.

"People have some serious issues." I say when we finally reach the middle of the dance floor. We had agreed that we would meet Lissa, Iggy, and Tess there. Fang chuckles and holds out his hand to me.

"Care to dance?" He asks, with another mock bow. Uh-oh. Time to panic. I have no clue how to slow dance. He seems to sense this and just brings both of his hands to gently rest on my waist. I cautiously place my arms around his neck.

"Okay, I can see that you have no clue how to dance." He says with a smirk. "I guess this will have to do."

"Hey! We can't all be perfect ballroom dancers like yourself!" I whisper in my defense. He smirks and starts with his right foot. Or is that his left foot? Before I realize it, I'm kind of... dancing? It's like he's picked me up and we're floating, yet I still feel the floor on my heels. No wait scratch that. He's slipped his feet under mine. That's why we were moving so smoothly... hehe. **(A/N: Borrowed that from Twilight!)**

"Gosh I thought I was doing this all by myself!" I say indignantly. We both look at each other then burst out laughing.

"May I cut in?" A voice asks behind me. Fang sets me on my feet, not his, and we both turn to see Sam dressed as a pirate, smiling at us- more like, me.

"Of course." Fang says and hands me off to him with a grin. "Have fun. I see Lissa over there." I turn to where he's heading when Lissa breaks through the crowd. Her dress was kind of on the short side! It went to a few inches above her knees. It was silky white with a low neckline and long, flowing sleeves. She has her hair curled and a little headband with a halo. Her stilettos are shiny metallic silver and her gossamer wings trail behind her. She looked great, in a more, errr... grown-up way. I immediately felt overdressed. After greeting Fang with a long kiss she slips her arm through his and comes over to Sam and I.

"Wow Max! You look amazing!" She says with a huge smile.

"Thanks. You look awesome too." I say. That wasn't a lie. She does looks great, I'm sure I look like a little girl playing dress-up next to her. Fang must be really happy right about now. All of a sudden a new song comes up, and it's waaay too loud. I know, I'm a teenager and we are supposed to LOVE loud music. Not me. Loud is okay, but blast out your eardrum kind of loud? Not my type of thing. Fang didn't look so happy either. He grabbed Lissa's hand and gestured for me to follow him. I grabbed Sam's hand and dragged him out with us, because of all the Phantom rehearsals, we were all kind of friends now. When we finally get outside we decide that we didn't want to go back into the dance. It was sort of lame.

"What should we do?" Lissa pipes up.

"Doesn't matter. I'm cool with whatever." Sam says.

"Okay, why don't we go check out the haunted houses we passed on our way here?" I suggest.

"Yeah, they looked pretty good." Fang agreed.

"Sure, sounds good." Sam said. Lissa nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay, there's one on Woodland Street." Fang says. "They have it every year. And it's normally pretty creepy." I still don't know all the names of the streets so I just nod like I know what he's talking about. Yep, that's me, the ever-thoughtful Max.

"Sounds good." I say. "Let's go!" It's kind of cold out, even colder than when we left the house. I rub my bare shoulders with my free hand, the other was holding my shawl together. Fang comes up beside me and takes off his cloak. I stop so he can adjust it and then fasten it around my neck.

"Thanks."

"Good thing it matches." He says. "At least it looks like its part of your pretty little dress." Oh great, he doesn't think I look pretty in it. He just thing it looks pretty. At least it's warm. It gives off a nice masculine scent. Probably his deodorant but I don't really want to think about that. We turn to continue going to the house when we realize we don't see Lissa and Sam anywhere.

"Uh... where did they go?" I ask Fang.

"No clue. I was here with you, remember?" Smart aleck. All of a sudden Fang's phone rings.

"Yo?" He says into his iPhone.

"Oh, we were just about to look for you." He says in relief.

"Okay. That's fine. We'll meet you there. Okay, bye." He hangs up and slips his phone back in his pocket.

"Lissa?" I ask.

"Yep. She said they are at the house and going to go in. They'll meet us outside." He explains.

"Okay. Sounds good." I say. "I hope Lissa's warm enough. Her dress was shorter than mine." I comment.

"Oh yeah. I guess it was." Fang says. His expression changes to a slightly confused one, as if he were trying to figure out a difficult Algebra problem. Did he seriously forget what she was wearing? Or better yet, didn't notice what she was wearing? Hahahaha.

"She has Sam, I'm sure it's fine." I assure him. "Sam had a long trench coat on. She can wear that." I instantly felt bad. "Sorry for stealing your cape. She could have used that instead."

"No, don't worry. Nudge made a beautiful dress but didn't add much protection against the weather." He said with a smirk.

"Fashion is more important than comfort you know." I say to him with high eyebrows.

"Oh, is it?" He says with a playful grin. "How silly of me, of course it's more important that you look your best rather than getting hypothermia. Everyone knows that!" He puts on a weird accent while he says this, which of course makes me laugh out loud. People from the other side of the street start staring. Whoops! As we turn the corner we hear screams coming from the huge house on the other end of the street. I think we found the haunted house.

"Wow. That's impressive." The house was huge and very old fashioned looking. They had a black wrought iron fence with black spokes at the top. The moon was full and the trees were perfect. You could just see the dark black outline of the them. In their yard stood a cemetery. It all looked so real. There were tombs that hand skeleton hands reaching up, as if to remove the lid. Eerie music came from hidden speakers. Something sprouted fog at random times so that there was always a slight layer that surrounded the house. The line was short and went quickly. They let a few people in at a time. Each about a minute or so after the next. Finally, we got to the front of the line. A gypsy's head in a swirling glass ball asked that we knock on the door. When it started talking, I knew that someone must have a mike hooked up to it somewhere.

"You there! Kind Sir and enchanting Madame in the gorgeous red dress. Honored guests, please proceed to the door. If you knock the master will see you now." Fang smirks and takes the heavy gold ring in his hand. He knocks three times. The door creaks open and a creepy looking butler opens the door.

"We've been expecting you." He says.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

Okay, that was a bit creepy. He gestures us in and points us in the direction of the hallway.

"Just continue down here. You will reach your destination soon." He says in that crisp, cold, way of his. I nod and Max and I start heading in the direction of his gesturing hand.

"Well that was odd." Max said. I nodded in agreement. We have just headed down the hall when all of a sudden all of the lights go out. A hand grabs mine in the darkness. Its just Max. It's fine, though a little clammy. The dim lights come back on and I find myself staring into a face of half bone half rotted flesh. I jump a little and see that Max has someone grabbing her hand too. Her other hand is at her chest, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. The lights go back off and they disappear. This time Max's hand finds it's way into mine. I'm a bit happy about that. We continue down the hall. The lights start to flicker.

"Rawr!" A voice yells and grabs our ankles. Max screams while I just jump. Again. This place was scarier than I thought. We disentangle ourselves and continue down the hall. We pass a bedroom where we find a gory corpse drowning in it's own blood.

"This is not what I bargained for." Max said. Her voice was trembling slightly. All this time, I thought Max was really tough and that something as fake as this wouldn't work on her. Trust me. If I knew it would, I would have bet Iggy a whole hell of a lot to get Max's expression. The only difference from that thought and what's happening right now is that I'm smack dab in the middle of it all. Guys tell me I sometimes look emo and that I would actually _love_ this type of stuff. Dead. Wrong. The closest I've gotten to this gothic age is Death Note. A Japanese manga, anime, and live action TV show, and even that had my head pounding from all the disturbing things. Well, here I am, in a haunted house. My arm was going numb from Max's tight grip on it.

"Uh... Max? You okay?" I tried to hide my desire to get out of here and the fact that the circulation in my arm was minimizing by the second!

"Yeah! I'm totally fine. Don't worry about me." she smiles. But her grip got tighter. A lot tighter. Yep, if I ever want the full use of my hand again I had better get her, make that the both of us, out of here.

"'Kay, um. Let's just get out of here." I grabbed her arm and started running, but Max tripped over something. Her shoe came off and she was on her knees, dress covered in fake cobwebs.

"Damn. I knew I shouldn't have worn high heels." She curses under her breath. She starts looking around for her shoe and that's when we both saw it at the same time. Thank God there was some white on it, otherwise there was no way we would've been able to find it. But then I saw it. Her shoes weren't white! There was a skeleton hand on top of the shoe. This is bad. Real bad. Of course, I knew it was fake. But Max didn't. Did she even see it?

"MAX! Don't-!" I tried to tell her. But she reached for the shoe, and out of the darkness came the skeleton, looming over her, screaming in her face. Max, in turn, had her mouth frozen in an 'O' ready to scream, her eyes huge. I pulled her back from the skeleton, but she had already passed out.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

_Fang was laughing. I was laughing. Could this day have gotten any better? A picnic in the park, playing volleyball at the beach. Fang's smile was the best thing in the world, I wish I could see it more often. Now we were just laying on the beach towel in the park and watching the clouds float by. Fang and I were side by side of each other, holding hands. His smell was so strong but so nice. Haha, I feel like a vampire! Being able to smell him and all... We stare into each other's eyes, and he leans over... to kiss me? His cold hand is on my face and-_

"Max! Max! Jeez, wake up, will ya?" I'm snapped back to lovely reality when I hear Sam's voice. I open my eyes but then have to blink a few times. The moon is overhead and so are Fang, Sam, and Lissa's anxious gazes.

"Oh Max. What happened?" Lissa said with concern. Yeah, that's what I wanna know too. I look over at Fang but he's no help at all, he just has a giant smirk on his face.

"What are you laughing at, dumbo? You were just as scared." I try to say with acid in my voice. It just comes out in a faint raspy whisper. I start laughing at Fang's expression and slowly sit up.

"Sheesh. You made me carry you the rest of the way." Fang smiles. Then I realize what he said.

"What? You- you carried me? What the heck! You probably strained your back or something!" I start yelling, my face getting hot. I'm not that light! And Fang's a skinny beanpole... kinda.

"Hah, and what? Leave you there to die? I don't think so." he smirks. There's a bit of an irritable look on Sam and Lissa's face, but I pass it off as a worried look. Fang helps me stand up and we head home. This night was a little too eventful for my taste...

**Okay. Super sorry AGAIN, for the HUGE respite. We've been busy with school and stuff so yeah. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Really hope you enjoy this chapter. I think that it's the longest one yet... so don't blame us too much! We love you all, and we'll see you next time!**

**Fly on!**

**Mx2Blue326 and NarutoLover7890**

**P.S.**

**Once again, if you would like to see Max's Halloween costume/headpiece go to my author's page. The link should be there. Ignore the other model and Taylor Swift (but we love her), thanks a million!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Doitashimaste Everyone! (AKA: You're Welcome.)**

**It's NarutoLover7890 back again... the reason why that makes no sense what-so-ever is because my good friend Mx2Blue326, started this author's note for me... she does NOT speak Japanese what-so-ever, hence the erm... interesting intro. So sorry about that... but I know that I had a good laugh!**

**We want to have a special call out to **PANTHER-PRIDE** in this author's note. You have left us a review for like every chapter and we really appreciate that. You are so supportive of our story and it makes us feel so good when we hear your kind words - so, thank you so much!**

**Also, we would like to thank **fanglove101** for your kind comment! We read it and we were like "AWWWWW!" It was so sweet! I know that Mx2Blue326 stays up supa late too, to read FanFictions people have written because they are so good! We feel honored that you feel that our story was good enough to stay up to 2am to read too! That's commitment people! Hope you weren't too tired. Don't worry, if you can't ever finish our chapters - they'll be there. We won't be lame and delete our story... unless it's super terrible... :) Hehe. But that's up to you guys to decide!**

**As for the rest of you... we feel you deserve a special call out too.**

zoey and stark 101:** You were our first review ever! Extra special thank you to you! Esp. since we don't ask for reviews. You're awesome! Hope you have enjoyed the story so far!**

FallenSnowAngel5297: **Love your enthusiasm for our story! And you were our second review. I know we also love your predictions for the upcoming chapters. Who knows? Maybe one day you'll find one of your 'predictions' in a chapter!**

xoiLuvFangxo:** First off, we loooove your pen name! Totally true... I know that I personally am in love with Iggy, as I put it, **_**"I LOVE IGGY MORE THAN NUDGE EVER WILL! hehehe ^_^", **_**but I still like Fang too. Mx2Blue326, well I think her favorite is Fang... Shhh! Don't tell Max! But, your comment made us feel so good inside - you'll keep reviewing! YAY! We looove you!**

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i'm short: **I think you might have changed your pen name sometime along the lines... but, I'm short too so that's totally cool with me! (Mx2Blue326 typed this - totally against my wishes!) Also we want to say thanks for asking the first question, ever! We hope that you got your answer on one of the author notes... Chapter 5 possibly? But thanks for your comment! **

conti siegel:** WE LOVE YOU! :) Thanks for your comment... and absolutely loooooove your pic. We love horses! Hope you have 'loved' the rest of our chapters too!**

Ally:** YEP FANG IS POPULAR! (Even though we've been doing a horrible job of showing this... but YEAH!) Anyway... thanks for your enthusiasm and support for the story. We appreciate you and your thoughtful comments!**

O.o-KatielovesFudge-O.o:** Awesome pen name. We love FUDGE too! (We really hope you're talking about the chocolate!) YUM! With a capital 'UM'. Hehe (Just not the Nudge and Fang thing - sorry, but we're Max and Fang all the way!). Okay, but, thanks for your comment! You made US feel AWESOME with YOUR AWESOME comment! Wow... I like used 'awesome' x3 in those 3 lines... creepy. *Wiggles eyebrows. No, but really, sincerely, thank you!**

Baby-Rosalita:** We can't wait to put up more chapters either! LOL. We're glad that you have enjoyed reading the story so far. :) We 3 you!**

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FaxLover:** Last, but not least, don't worry! FAX will come, we promise! We just need to build up the tension! If we let her have Fang in two seconds... well... where's the story in that? We hope to continue this as long as you guys like it... so... *BREATHE and keep reading. We would NEVER let Max end up with anyone else in the end (or would we?). *Wiggles eyebrows. Thanks for your comment - don't worry we won't ever forget about you... or your pen name! :D**

**OKAY WOW... THAT WAS ONE LOOOOOOOONG AUTHOR'S NOTE - BUT BE SURE TO FIND YOUR NAME IN THERE AND READ OUR LITTLE COMMENT BACK! ALSO ANOTHER THANK YOU TO EVERYONE OUT THERE WHO READS OUR STORY AND ADDS US TO FAVORITE AUTHORS/STORIES LISTS... YEAH. EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T REVIEWED, STILL THANK YOU FOR READING OUR STORY, IT MEANS A LOT TO US! Please don't feel that you need to leave a review - you don't. We just hope you have enjoyed our story so far and will continue to with the many chapters to come! YAY!**

**Disclaimer: ****Okay, we've been through this a million times, but here it is-**

**First, walk out into the street on a beautiful day. Then go to a place where there are a LOT of people. For example, malls, movies, restaurants, etc. Well, if someone runs up to you with a Maximum Ride book in their hands asking for an autograph, screaming "Oh my gosh it's James Patterson!" or "Oh my gosh that's Andrew Lloyd Webber!" that's really wonderful for you, but that has never happened to us.**

**LET'S GO! :D**

**Chapter 10**

**Max's POV**

"And a one, two, three, one, two, three, good! Now spin!" The choreographer calls out again. I think that if I have to run through this thing one more time, I will scream. I'm dancing with Sam, rehearsing our waltz that we have to do. It's short but we're going to put it in our "All I Ask of You" scene and during the masquerade scene as well.

"Max." She calls out. I can tell that she is trying to be polite but is getting impatient. Good. Hey, we can't all be naturals? I wasn't even supposed to be here - remember?

"Remember we said that you have to start the turn on your right foot not your left!" She says through clenched teeth. Haha!

"Will do." I reply, even though she and I both knew that's what I said the past five times.

"Good! Let's try this again! Remember - look at each other and feel the connection between you. And a five, six, seven, eight." She says with a terse smile. After a few times she finally yells.

"STOP! My dear, how are you managing to even dance like that? The man is supposed to lead. You are his graceful little butterfly. You go with his flow. You should look like one unit moving simultaneously and in synchronization with each other." All I got out of that was, I am his _whaaat_?

"Oh... I don't know. I'm sorry but I am a really horrible dancer." I said sweetly. She just sighed and didn't even try to deny it. What can I say? I have the effect on people sometimes. "And Sam! I'm so sorry for stepping on your feet - I must have done that what? Every three steps?"

"No, no. It's fine - you don't weight a thing. And it's gotten a bit better. It used to be every two steps." He said easily. We've gotten even closer with all of these rehearsals together. He's actually a really nice guy.

"How's it coming along?" I jump about a foot in the air. Why? Because that voice was coming from right behind me. I twirl around and find tripping over myself and then falling. I fall into a heap on the floor and pain shoots through my ankle. Fang rushes over and quickly comes to kneel next to me.

"Max! Are you alright?" He says suddenly all serious. I use his arm and get up. I put all of my weight on my right foot and cautiously set my left foot down. Some tenderness, and pain, I'll admit that... but it was bearable, kind of. I couldn't look weak in front of Sam and Fang. I could deal with this myself. I take a step forward. OUCH. And another, and another. I head back to Sam.

"Okay, are we going to finish this thing?" I ask him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asks me with concern in his green eyes.

"Yeah. I'm totally cool. Let's get this over with." I reply.

"No, I really think you should get home and ice your ankle." Sam says.

"I said that I'm fine." I say through clenched teeth. I'm not that weak! Thank you very much.

"You don't look fine. You look really pale." He says softly. Now that he mentions it, I guess I don't feel so amazing. I give him one last glare and stalk off the stage... well try to stalk off the stage. After about two steps my stupid ankle gives out on me and I'm falling again. Just as I'm sure that I'll twist my other ankle too, two tan arms shoot out and grab me. Stupid perfect-timing, muscular, TALL, best friend.

"Whoa there! Easy!" Fang said.

"I'm fine." I say, though I know my voice doesn't sound fine.

"Come on. Lemme take you home." He says in a soft voice.

"Okay." I sigh, and all the energy is drained out of me.

"I'll take care of her. We'll see you soon." He announces to Sam and the choreographer. The choreographer throws her arms up in the air as if she can't believe the misfortune she was given. Sam just nods, concern still all over his face. There was something else, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Sounds good. Thanks, man. Feel better Max!" Sam says. He is so sweet! I smile at him and wave.

"Hope your feet don't hurt too bad." I say in return. He just laughs and waves back.

"Done?" Fang asks me. He's been watching us the whole time.

"Yep." I reply.

"I was going to go out with Lissa this evening, but I'll tell her an emergency came up. This is important." He says whipping out his cellphone with his free hand. He's not carrying me, thank God. But he had his arm wrapped around my waist and was aiding me along. He kinda tried to stoop so I could put my arm around his neck a little easier but he was too tall for that to be comfortable.

"No! Please Fang, go out tonight." I tell him. "I'll be fine. I'll have Iggy come over." I reply.

"Yeah, but his father isn't a doctor." Fang reminds me.

"Yours is?" I ask in disbelief.

"Yeah. I just want him to take a look and make sure it's only a sprain or a twist not a fracture or something else." He explained to me. He dialed Lissa's number. She answered pretty quickly.

"Hey Lissa," Fang said into the phone's mouth was a moment of silence as she replied. I think it was something weird like: "Hi Fangy-poo." Boy, I never was going to let him live THAT one down.

"Listen sorry, but I don't know If I can come tonight." He said. "Max twisted her ankle and I want my Dad to look at it." She must have let him off the hook because he sort of sighed in relief.

"Thanks Liss, I'm so sorry. But I'll make it up to you, I promise." Short silence as she replies.

"Okay, sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow. You too. Bye." He replied then hit the end button. Hmm... wonder what he was saying "You too" to... If it was "I love you", then he isn't that serious about it. A guy is never serious unless he actually says it back... but that's just my opinion... errrr... okay... back to my twisted ankle! Hehe...

"Alright let's get you home. This half dragging you thing, is not working. You are not going to put anymore weight on it." With that, he scooped me up... again. Oh, for the love of all that's holy! I'm not THAT desperate!

*ooOoo*

**Sam's POV**

I watched her go with Fang. For some reason it bothered me. I mean I know that Fang has a girlfriend. Lissa. Shes cute, but not my type. Well, I don't really think she's any guy's type... Fang would actually be the last guy I'd picture her with... Oh well. His choice. But better for me, I think Max is awesome. She's funny, kind, sweet, tough, and doesn't care what anyone thinks of her. Just my type. Wait... I didn't really mean that. I don't think she would go out with me in a million years. I mean, I think she just thinks or me as a friend. I mean, I know that Fang and her are just friends, but they're better friends than we are.

Sigh, Fang has the perfect everything. He has a popular girlfriend. His best friend is the awesomest girl to ever walk this planet. He has tons of friends. He has the best voice I have ever heard. He's smart, as in straight A's. Not trying to be weird or anything, but he's a good-looking guy too. I know that when he's brought up in the conversation, normally headed by girls, the words "hot" or "handsome" are thrown around a lot. What makes it all worse is that Fang is nice. He's not mean. He hasn't gotten a care in the world, he's the perfect guy. And Max is the perfect girl.

I smile slightly at the choreographer when I'm done with my rant and run my hand through my hair.

"I'll see you... uh soon. I mean when Max's ankle is better." She has this pained look on her face, like she's trying not to think about another dance lesson with Max. I give a half wave and turn on my heel. I'm outta there.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

"You can put me down." I say to him with a sigh. "You're probably breaking your back right now. No need to act all macho. Just set me down. I can walk." Fang just laughs at me.

"Uh huh. Walk two steps and then fall down. Then I'll just end up carrying you again, or you'll twist your other ankle." He says with grin.

"But Fang, I'm not that light." I argue.

"Not really. How much do you weigh?" He asks me.

"Umm..." I just give him a weird look.

"Oh, right, asking a girl her weight is like boiling live puppies." He says.

"Nice analogy but yes, something like that." I say. I can tell that my cheeks are flaming.

"Well since you won't tell me, I'm going to guess that you're maybe..." He lets it dangle in that irritating way of his.

"Hmph." Is all he gets out of me.

"How tall are you?" He demands.

"Umm... 5' 8"ish" I say.

"Yeah, you are pretty tall." He tells me. I give him a look. Was that supposed to be a bad thing? He backpedals.

"That's not bad. Don't worry about it." he tells me. "I like tall girls." He says with a joking smile. I roll my eyes. He likes tall girls? Doesn't show. Lissa is like 5'0"? Hehe... WAIT! I mean, Lissa's tall - with her heels - this made total sense for him to like... okay, never mind.

"Oh really?" I say trying to distract him from the blush on my cheeks and the fact that just a second ago we were talking about my height and weight...

"Mhm." He says. I smile to myself. After a few seconds I feel the need to break the silence.

"How tall are you?" I ask out of curiousity.

"Over 6 foot?" He kind of asks.

"No, I mean exactly?"

"I don't know. Haven't measured in a while." Hmmm... Well, he's taller than Sam. Shorter than Dylan though. I know, kind of off topic but, I hate having to look up at guys. Don't you? Sometimes? I mean they do have to be tall because it's nice that they have to lean down to... errrr... moving on. Anyway, having to look up to them makes me feel... I don't know... not as strong or independent as they are? I mean, it bothers me that I can't look at them eye to eye when I'm talking to them. But never mind that...

"Hm... that explains that a lot." I say. I've decided that I'm going to take out my annoyance over all of my tall guy friends on him. I let the bait sit there.

"About what?" He asks me.

"Nothing." I say with a smile.

"What?" He demands.

"Guy's inability to dance well." I reply.

"What?" He exclaims, his eyes wide with shock. I guess this conversation wasn't taking the turn that he was expecting.

"I mean, Sam, he's pretty good. But he's shorter than you are." I say with a smile. His eyes narrow.

"Excuse me, but I don't think you've ever seen me dance." He replies.

"Oh! But I can guess!" I say in a sing-song voice smiling up at him. He just laughs back at me.

"We'll see who's so mighty the next time we see you in rehearsal!" He shoots back. Okay, that got me angry.

"Well! I... sprained my ankle! It was your fault, you distracted me!" I said indignantly.

"No, you sprained your ankle ecause you were performing, what you call "dancing", and then tripped over your own feet. A dancer is utterly focused on what they're doing and are always aware of the position of their body." He tells me with a satisfied expression on his face. HA! Like I didn't know_ that_! Man, he sounds so... proper and poised. So... un-Fang like... I burst out laughing. Fang sounds like he stepped out of a ballroom dancing guidebook, my ankle is sprained, and he's carrying me in his arms, to my house, in public. Can this get any better? He looks at me, startled.

"What? Was it something I said?" He asks a little too innocently.

"No..." I get out between giggles. "Not at all!" That's when I lose it.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

"Okay... now I'm wondering if I should be worried. I mean... it wasn't that funny. I was just kidding!" I exclaim. Max has lost it. There are tears streaming down her face and I know she's laughing... but she's not making a sound. Have you ever done that? I think I've seen it before... but by the time her breathing has become these weird hitching wheezes, I'm deliberating if I should do the Heimlich or slap her in the face.

"MAX! You're really creeping me out." I say. I've come to a stop by the side of the sidewalk and set her down on the grass. "You alright?"

"I'm," Weird hitching sound. "Fine!" She says. Then explodes into another fit of giggles. She's acting like one of those silly schoolgirls in those movies!

"Uhhh... you don't look fine." I say. She takes a few deep breaths and is able to speak again... kind of.

"Huh? Really?" She asks me sarcastically. *Hickup! Her hand flies to cover her mouth. *Hickup! I snort. She takes one surprised look at me and then I'm the one laughing my head off, just like when I first met her at the airport. She is probably the only person in the world who can get me to laugh like this: on my back, tears streaming, unable to move an inch. She's got me incapacitated. She looks at me again and then she's rolling on the grass laughing with me too. Silence. Then, *Hickup! We both stare at each other then burst out laughing again. My knees feel weak and I can't get to my feet, so we just lay there getting the last of our hysterics out.

"Awww! What an adorable couple!" A voice says. We look up to see and elderly woman stop on her way down the sidewalk.

"Wait, what?" Max asks her in disbelief.

"In denial, are we?" She says with a sly grin. Speaking behind her hand she whispers, "Don't worry! Your secret is safe with me!"

"But we're not..." Max says trailing off. Then, when I think this cannot possibly get worse, the lady winks at us.

"No I mean we're really NOT together!" I exclaim before this can get worse. what if she started rumors and Lissa heard about this? It would ruin our relationship! "I have a girlfriend, whose not her!" I say pointing at Max. Max is still frozen staring at the old lady.

"Young love..." She sighs to herself. "You two take care of each other!" Then continues her way down the street humming a song about the birds and the bees. This is why old people will never have anything to do with my profession when I get older. It's not that I can't tolerate them, but just that the headache that I get when I _do_ tolerate them isn't worth it. I stare at Max wondering if I should start laughing or if I should just play it cool and say something like 'Well, that was odd...' Instead, I just wait for her to do something so I don't do something that would make this even weirder...

We both stare at each other.

"She thought..." Max says.

"That us... we..." I continue.

"Were..."

"TOGETHER!" We hoot well... together. We're already on the ground so we do the natural thing. Start rolling around like five year olds laughing our heads off until we both have major side pains and feel like we gotta pee our pants. Natural right?

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

So, my ankle has only gotten me two days of pity. It's now fully healed and I'm dancing... again. Except this time they've added heels to the mix. So our algebraic formula for the day is: **Max + **_**x**_**Heels = **_**x**_**Pain + Terror!** Let _**x**_ = the height (in inches) that the heels are. Therefore, **each inch = the same amount of pain**. Because there is only one variable... if we** -**_**x**_**Heels **and **-**_**x**_**Pain**, Max and Terror are left over... meaning... **Max = TERROR**... Get it? See, I'm fun and educational. **(A/N: Now where have we seen that one before?)** Now if you didn't understand that one bit... just know this... **Max + Heels = { }**... the empty set - meaning there IS no answer.

"I'm super sorry about all of this." I say to Sam.

"No worries." He smiles at me reassuringly. "Really, I'm just glad that you're all right."

"Thanks." I'm touched that he said that even with me stomping all over his feet. The music begins and we start 'dancing'. I put this in quotes because... I really would not consider it dancing. If possible, I've gotten... well, there really is no other way to say this, but worse.

"Oh mon dieu!" Our choreographer screeches. Wow. She's bilingual. I'm guessing that means she's cursing at me in French. Fabulous! Sam and I continue dancing. _I'm so sorry!_ I say with my eyes. He just chuckles quietly.

"AGAIN!" She exclaims after watching us for a second. "FROM THE TOP!" My, this is going to be one loooooong afternoon of rehearsal.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

As I'm passing the auditorium, I see Max up there with Sam right now. She is killing me with that form. I think Sam is doing alright... sort of. He's trying to lead but stubborn old Max is fighting him for it. I'll have to take matters into my own hands tonight. I feel bad for the guy, he needs some serious help. Not to mention the look that choreographer person is giving Max. She looks like she's going to rip all of her hair out. I shake my head with a smile and turn away from the door. Silly Max. I continue to my locker to get my books. After that, I'm headed to the library to study with Lissa. After her rehearsal, Max and I will meet at the front to walk home as we always do.

"Hey Fang!" I hear Lissa's bright voice behind my door.

"Hey!" I give her one of my half-smiles. The only person to ever see my "pearly whites" is Max. I don't hide anything from her. Lissa takes a step towards me and puts both hands on my chest. Rising on the tips of her toes she still can barely reach my chin. But she still manages. I lean down so she can reach. Her sticky lips press against mine. Ew. Lipgloss. When she pulls away, she's beaming up at me. I smile down at her and take her hand. When I don't think she's looking I wipe my free hand across my mouth. Kissing? OK. Lipgloss? I could live without.

"How's your rehearsals coming along?" I ask her.

"Oh fine." She replies. But I can tell that something is bothering her.

"What's the matter?" I ask her.

"It's just that, I guess I'm jealous." She admits sheepishly. I stop walking and look at her. She refused to meet my gaze and stared at the tile floor.

"Of what?" I ask her softly. I know that Lissa, even though normally very sure of herself, is sometimes very insecure. This was one of those times.

"Nothing. I shouldn't have mentioned it." She signs and urges me forward, or tries to, I resist her attempts to pull me. Max isn't the only one who can put up a good fight.

*ooOoo*

**Lissa's POV**

"Lissa." Fang says gently. I keep my eyes trained on the floor. I feel Fang put his long fingers under my chin and slowly tilt it up so I was forced to look at him. I know it's stupid and shallow of me, but I can feel tears start to gather behind my eyes. I guess he can tell that I'm about to lose it because his eyes widen in shock.

"Lissa? What's the matter? What's making you jealous?" He asks me.

"Not 'what', 'who'." I murmur. Realization dawns in his eyes. He pulls me towards him.

"Oh no, not Max, right? You know better than to be jealous of Max." He says softly. He chuckles softly as he feels his shirt dampen with the few tears that have finally spilled over.

"I know, I know, I'm being silly... but..." I wipe my eyes. He's so good at this boyfriend stuff. I suck as a girlfriend.

"What?" He asks me. You see? This is what I'm afraid of. He's such a great guy. There aren't many of those in the world. I know that it never made sense for him to like me. I mean, he's the most popular boy in school, true. And I know that I'm one of the populars too. There is no one 'It' girl. But there is an 'It' boy at this school. That would be the handsome teenager staring back at me. Fang, my boyfriend. Man it feels good to say that. I know that I can never really admit this to him. It's so shallow of me.

"Max has such a beautiful voice." I say.

"Oh. That's what all this is about?" He asks me with a smile.

"Yeah... I guess so." I reply.

"You sure it's not something like 'Oh, I spend so much time with Max now because of Phantom rehearsals?' or... 'You have neglected your girlfriend by spending so much time with Max?'" He's caught me.

"Okay... it's something like that." Not to mention HOW much. "I guess I'm kinda scared that she's 'stealing' you away from me." I try to lighten the mood with a playful punch to his arm. Even though I seriously mean everything I've just said.

"I know. I'm sorry, Lis." He says with a sigh. "I haven't been paying as much attention to you as I should have." He goes on. "I've been a really sucky boyfriend. I know it, and I'm sorry." He says. My eyes are filling again.

"No no, you're perfect. The best boyfriend anyone could ask for. I'm just selfish." I say with a small smile. "I know that it's just that you can't help it. You got a lot of stuff on your mind right now." I say. I slip my hand back into his to continue down the hall. But this time, he's the one who stops me. He pulls me into a deep kiss. It's then that I decide that I am really, truly, and deeply, in love with him.

"Sorry, I really am sorry." He says. "I know that a kiss can't makeup for everything I've done. But, I know a special someone's birthday that's coming up next week..." He trails off smiling at me.

"Oh! I almost forgot! It is my birthday..." I had forgotten it.

"The 29th right?" Fang confirmed.

"Yep." I said beaming. He got it right! Most boyfriends, I'm sad to say, totally forget when their girlfriend's birthday's are.

"Okay, I'll make reservations for that new Italian place in town to celebrate. How does that sound?" I just lean up and give him another huge kiss. He was so sweet!

"Deal." I say and we continued on our way to the library.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

"How did it go?" Fang asks me as I'm in the kitchen trying to find a coke.

"Good. I guess." I say. "Jackpot! I found the cokes. Want one?" I ask Fang.

"Yep." He says. As I go to hand him one, our hands briefly touch. Instead of letting go, Fang kept on of his hands on mine and drags me up the stairs into the open patio on my third floor. (Where my TV and my beanbag chairs now are.) Still dragging me, he puts a CD into my surround sound player, fiddles with the buttons, and then presses play. We walk to the middle of the floor and he goes to the table, that has been pushed against the wall, sets down both of our cokes, then walks back to where I'm standing in the middle of the floor. As the music starts he wraps one hand around my waist and then grabs one of my hands. He took that hand and placed it on this shoulder. His other hand then took hold of mine.

"Maybe this will help." He said.

"What are you doing?" I spit out between my teeth.

"Dancing of course." He replies innocently.

"WHAT?" I screech. I'm sure the whole house can hear me.

"Come on. I can dance. You can't. I'm sad to say that I feel very bad for a certain... Raoul in our play." He says with a sly smile. That dumbo. Thinking he's _so_ good at everything. He's probably worse than I am he's so dang tall!

"Yeah. Right." I say trying to pull out of his hold. No dice. He starts the familiar choreography that I've been attempting to do over the past few days. I stare down at our feet.

"No, Max. Look up here." He tells me. After a second I take my eyes off the floor and his feet.

"Good. Now stop fighting me for the lead." He says. I slowly start to relax and were twirling around and around.

"Max." He says softly.

"What?" I say annoyed, even though this is the best I've been doing.

"Look me in the eye." I've been looking at his mouth, anywhere but his eyes. I tilt my head the extra few degrees back so that I'm looking him straight in the eye. Isn't this what I wanted? No. My courage and defiance is deserting me as I stare into the two deep abysses of night that are Fang's eyes. After a few seconds the only thing I see are Fang's eyes, the only thing I feel is his body moving in perfect graceful movements with mine, and the only thing I hear are the soft melodic notes of the piano recording.

"Max," Fang begins.

"Yes?"

"You're dancing." I beam up at him as he leads me into a final spin. "Actually you're improvising." Really? Wow I didn't even notice that we weren't doing the choreography anymore! Fang is an excellent teacher. So there! Mrs. Max-Can't-Dance-To-Save-Her-Life-Choreographer-Lady! The music stops and we're staring at each other, breathing a little harder than usual but grinning. The sound of clapping resonates off the walls. I turn to see Ari, Jeb, and Anne smiling at me and Fang. The blood drains from my face. Shoot! How long have they been standing there?

"That was gorgeous, honey!" Anne gushes. I allow a small smile at her.

"Yeah... you looked so pretty." Ari pipes up.

"Thanks." I say softly. I can feel the blush coming back.

"Okay. Now I think you need to try it with some heels on." Fang's voice cuts into my thoughts.

"Uhhh... so soon?" I ask him.

"Yes. With me leading, you won't fall, promise." I see the determined look in his eyes and sigh. He'll be here all night if I don't agree to do this now. Not that that's a bad thing... him being here all night, I mean... Crud! I mean... okay... lemme go get those heels!

"I don't own heels." I say with an exasperated sigh. Yep that's me! Pretend like nothing's wrong! Right?

"Oh! You can borrow mine!" Anne says and runs downstairs to get them.

"Thanks." I say in a sarcastic tone to her retreating back as well as a smirking Fang.

"You're most welcome." He replies with a slight bow.

"You're impossible!" I exclaim, but my 'annoyance' is slightly marred by the light laugh I let out of my lips. Sadly, by that time, Anne is back with the shoes of death.

"Lucky we both wear a size 8!" She says with another smile.

"Uh huh." I force a grimace and take my beloved socks off.

"Whoa! Your toes are really bony!" Fang exclaims.

"So I've been told." I mutter under my breath.

"She gets them from her father." Anne supplies. Huh. Thanks Anne... NOT! Once I've safely gotten the dang shoes on, Fang walks over the stereo to restart the song.

"Do you mind if we join in?" Anne asks Fang.

"Not at all. It will be good practice for Max, there will be other dancers in the masquerade scene." He says.

"Masquerade scene?" Jeb asks with slightly raised eyebrows. This means that he is absolutely shocked. He never pays attention to anything I do.

"Didn't Max tell you about her landing the lead in the school play?" Fang asks with a polite smile. He knows me too well to know that I wouldn't have told my father about it.

"No. She didn't mention it in any recent conversations. Max?" He replies.

"Oh... Yeah. I did get in." I say staring at the floor. Fang!

"Yes. She is playing the role of Christine Daae, the female lead. You can come if you'd like." Fang says, most helpfully. Why that little...!

"We would love to come and see you perform. When will it be and what play is it?" Anne asks us. Well, Fang mostly.

"We are performing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phanotm of the Opera." He said with a flourish. "The play is in early December. I'll be sure to get you front row tickets for the opening night!" He adds. Oh that jerk!

"Oh, that's so thoughtful of you Fang! If you can get us such good seats you must be one of the important people." She remarks with a sly smile.

"Yes. I actually am the Phantom. Max didn't tell you that either?" He sounded pleasantly surprised.

"She was very withholding in her information about this, school production." Jeb said. His voice was serious but his face was trying not to smile. I don't think I've ever seen him go this long without his blackberry or reprimanding me for something I didn't do... okay maybe I've done some of those. But, he was actually joking around. Fang must bring out the best in all of us... excluding me. He brings out the worst! But what are friends for? Once I've finished putting my blasted heels on I'm ready to attempt this waltz thing again. Oh well, our funeral. (Trust me, if I fall, I'm taking him down with me!)

"Shall we?" Fang asks with an easy smile.

"We shall." Fang nods to Ari, who has come to stand by the stereo and be DJ for the evening. As the music starts he bows slightly from the waist and I take this as my cue to curtsy. I wobble a little in my heels as I'm looking at my feet. As I rise, Fang's fingers raise my chin so that I'm looking into his face. Perfect balance now, of course. He was smirking, shaking his head slightly, and making a 'nuh-uh' expression on that handsome face of his. Did I just say handsome? I meant... moving on.

"You're not so bad at this you know." Fang whispers in my ear as Anne and Jeb and Fang and I swirl around my patio. I throw my head back and laugh out loud. Jeb and Anne were looking at us with knowing glances... or so I've been told. I'm not sure, I was too busy to notice.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

I wonder if me stepping on Sam's feet has caused them to go numb, or if it's possible that I haven't stepped on either foot yet... yeah, like that's possible... that was supposed to be funny... Guess I'll never be a comedian when I grow up. Hope my parents aren't too disappointed. I try to not look at his face nor down at our feet because I'm so sure I'll get snapped at again if my head is caught tilting down one more time.

Looking at Sam's face... makes me feel really awkward, so I don't do it. Even though Fang told me that that's what makes the dance what it is. The eye contact. And, it's not because his face is too 'hot for me to handle' or because it's 'super ugly' but just because any time I look at him, he looks straight back. Straight into my eyes. Straight into my head. It's just a really awkward feeling. I think it's easier with Fang, because even though he looks back, he's always clowning around. Sam is so serious!

Anyway, back to dancing- I haven't heard a single yell from the audience that would cause me to stop dancing and say "Oh my gosh, what have I done wrong this time?" Miracle, isn't it? I really feel like I'm dancing now, though. It's kind of... a satisfactory feeling to have even though dancing wouldn't necessarily be put on my "Top 10 Things to Become Pro At By the Time I Graduate" list.

When the music finally stopped, we looked around to find the lady who was supposed to be teaching us how to dance. She was nowhere to be found... then I did that head tilting thing... the thing that always got me in trouble. This whole rehearsal has been so silent that now I just felt I couldn't call it a rehearsal without someone yelling at me. But did that yell ever come? Nope... You wanna know where my so-called dance instructor went? Well, fact is, she didn't go anywhere. At least, not out of the auditorium she didn't. I came closer to the edge of the stage, looked down, and found a very stunned looking Mrs... Hm... that's funny I don't think I ever caught her name. But anyway, the choreographer was so stunned that she had sat down. On the floor. Of the auditorium. HA! I would have paid a lot of money to get her on video like this... I guess I really do owe Fang a thanks!

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

"Awww! Come on, you have GOT to be kidding me!" Iggy exclaims as his bowling ball ends up in the gutter, again. We all laugh.

"Sore loser?" Ella asks him with a sly smile.

"No." He says glaring at us. Fang, Iggy, Ella, and I were playing Wii sports bowling the first day of our Thanksgiving break, and we were having a blast. Nudge was downstairs getting us some sodas and snacks. YUM!

"Fang it's your turn." I say as the screen switches from Iggy's Mii to Fang's. Fang's was, of course, wearing black. He cracks a smile at me, then raises his eyebrows menacingly. He walks up to the screen, adjusts his guy carelessly and proceeds to make a perfect turkey strike. That boy had a knack for Wii Sports. It was my turn next.

"Okay, lemme show you all how this is really done." I say with a smirk. Not to be cocky or anything, but I am pro at Wii bowling. The fake crowd cheers as I get a turkey as well.

"Nice." Ella says appreciatively.

"Thank you!" And I give her hand a slap as I pass back to my seat next to Fang on the couch.

"I'm next!" Ella says jumping out of her beanbag chair. Iggy was sulking next to her in the other one. She hits and gets a clean spare.

"Very nice." I tell her.

"Thanks, this is my first time playing." She says with a kind smile. She's 14, one year younger, but seems like she's our age. Nudge can be grown up, but you can tell that Ella is the more mature of the two.

"Well, in that case, great job!" I tell her.

"Thanks!" And sits back down in her purple bean bag chair. Iggy's was black.

"Okay, I'll show you how the pros do it." Iggy scoffs.

"Sure Iggy." I say. Fang, Ella, and I all laugh again.

"Oh just shut it!" He says and proceeds to throw his ball.

"No! No! Go to the RIGHT! You stupid ball!" His ball hits the three pins on the left. The other seven remain standing, mocking him and making us burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Nudge has returned with our snacks! Come to mama! We all swarm around her to help her grab the big bowls of popcorn, potato chips, and cans of coke.

"Thanks Nudge!" Ella says. A chorus of 'thank you's' ring out.

"No prob." She replies. "So, hows the game going?"

"Well... Iggy is losing. Fang and Max have been getting strike after strike, and I guess I'm doing alright." Ella supplies.

"Ah." Nudge replied. "I'll play tennis with someone after." She suggested.

"Okay. Maybe Iggy will beat us at that game." Fang laughed.

"Or not." I put in. That got the four of us laughing. Iggy just snorted in disgust and glared at all of us. By the end of the day we had laughed so much! Fang ended up winning the bowling match, but I came in a close second. Ella and Nudge were an unbeatable team at tennis. Iggy turned out to be good at golf. Who would have thought? I was the champion at baseball and boxing, so I guess we're about even. NOT! No, but we all had tons of fun.

This break was all about perfect until I got a call from my father.

"Hello?" I answered on the second ring.

"Hi Max. What are you doing right now?" He asks. I am immediately suspicious. He never asks me what I'm doing.

"Ummm... playing Wii with the gang." I reply. He knows all of my new friends and he adores them, so no problem there.

"Ah, I have a huge favor to ask. Anne has to take Ari to his annual doctors appointment and then they're going to go on a one night camping trip with his boy scout troop. The housekeeper has the next few days off to be with her family for the holidays. I am stuck at work and don't know how I'm supposed to get Thanksgiving dinner on the table." He sounded apologetic.

"Oh." This was not what I expected.

"Yeah, my hands are tied. If I leave you a couple hundreds, could you and your friends make a turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes? The works? They are welcome to bring their families and themselves over for dinner, provided that you can prepare it and have it ready for 6:00pm tomorrow evening." He says.

"Oh great." I reply. I'm getting weird looks from all of my friends. They are seriously confused. A few seconds later they've all returned to versing themselves on Mario Kart.

"Do you think you could do that for me? Thanks honey." He says. "Oh! I'm sorry important call. I'll see you tomorrow." The phone beeps and he's gone. I make my way to the couch and sink down on it's soft cushions, my head in my hands.

"Play the next one without me, alright?" Fang says. I think they all say okay, but they're having too much fun to really care.

"What's wrong?" He demands.

"Nothing." I reply tersely.

"Yeah, right, like I'm supposed to believe that."

"No really, its... nothing." I assure him. My lie sounds weak to my own ears.

"What is with you girls?" I think I hear him mutter, but I'm not too sure.

"Alright. It's just that Anne and Ari are busy, my Dad's stuck on his business trip for one more day, and our housekeeper has her break for the holidays." I say.

"Oh? So you'll be alone? Is that it?" He asks me. "You're welcome at my place." He says. I know, a girl sleeping at a guy's house... but it's nothing like that. We're just buds.

"No, that's not it." I reply. It's the fact that I'm supposed to cook a whole dang meal and I don't even know the difference between a whisk and a spatula!

"Then what?" He asks, plainly confused.

"I... He... My dad asked me to cook Thanksgiving dinner." I admit.

"You can beat my butt at boxing, but you're scared to go into a kitchen?" He asks me in mock horror.

"Shut up!" I punch him in the arm. He's just smiling at me. "I can't cook!" He opens his mouth but I cut him off. "You were Emril in a past life weren't you?" I say sarcastically. He just laughs.

"Yep!" I glare at him. "No, no! I'm not the best either." He admits. Oh, wow, something he can't do. This must be a first.

"Oh good." I say.

"Good?" One of his eyebrows have arched up.

"Well, that's one thing you can't do, just like me!" I feel very triumphant at this second. "Now, even though I know you can't cook, I'm not sure what to -" I'm cut off by Fang's next remark.

"I never said that I can't cook. I said I'm not the best. I can cook, but Iggy over there, he's the man when it comes to cooking. He can whip up a lemon meringue pie like nobody's business." Fang said. **(A/N: Sound familiar?)**

"Oh. Wait seriously?" My eyes are now the size of dinner plates.

"Yep." He said. "Shh... don't tell him I told you that. Star of the basketball team can cook too!" I giggle. I never knew that he played basketball either! Hm. I'm learning a lot about Iggy today.

"Okay, go get the duck tape Fang, he's going to be my hostage." I tell him. Fang just chuckles.

*ooOoo*

**Iggy's POV: Thanksgiving Day**

I look around in shock. Max's kitchen is the most high-tech I have ever seen! It's close to a professional chefs, you know like the kind you see on Food Network? There's an island and everything. Pans are hanging from racks above all the appliances. A huge grill and oven sit next to each other on one side of the room. Even a separate pizza oven! Their stainless steel fridge is huge, as well as their chest freezer. They have their own wine room as well.

"Dang, Max, this place is huge!" I exclaim in wonder. It's like my dream. I can already see myself dressed in a white chefs uniform, apron, and bandanna hat. "Are you sure you don't want to help me?" Max explained her dilemma and all of us immediately agreed to help. Surrounded by our friends and their families, this would be the best Thanksgiving ever!

"Uh, yes I'm sure." She says, looking warily at the stove, grill, and assortment of knives.

"Awww - come on! What's the worse that could happen?"

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Time for another of Max's Mini quizzes! While cooking Thanksgiving dinner with Iggy and Fang, did Max, **A) Burn the house down and have to call Poison Control**... (Haha, very funny Iggy), **B) Make a perfect Thanksgiving feast and will be starting her own line of restaurants next week** (Yo, note the sarcasm - Fang), or **C) Set the Turkey on Fire, Burn the stuffing, and get mashed potatoes on the ceiling? **Hehe... if you chose **C)** well... funny story. Hehe...

It all started when Iggy asked me to preheat the oven... or was it when Fang told me to take over the mashed potatoes for a sec? Ah... who knows? Anyway, Iggy and Fang have never seen me cook. The only person who has was Ari... my parents still wonder how he had gotten _that_ sick for two weeks. Shhh! Don't tell! I was only trying to make him a sandwich!

"Are you absolutely sure you want me here?" I ask for the tenth time. So far the only thing we've done is don white aprons, black for Fang, of course, and wash our hands.

"Max, have some confidence. Like in Ratatouille, "_Anyone can cook!"_ Right?" Iggy says with a fake Italian accent. Hmmm... maybe if this cooking career doesn't work out, he can become an actor.

"Sure." I say. Then, "Wait, you actually watched that movie?"

"Yeah." He replies kind of sheepishly. "You?"

"Um, yeah, with Ari." I mutter. Ari is my excuse... though, it actually was okay. We just nod and know that the other will keep it a secret.

"So, all I need you to do right now is preheat the oven." He tells me looking very calm about all this.

"Okay... umm... this one's the oven right?" I ask him pointing to the one that has the door that opens downward.

"Yes Max." He replies making me feel like a three year-old. Great.

"Okay, just checking." And head over to the oven. Okay... preheat, preheat, preheat... Oh! I think it's the button that says 'Temperature'. Yep, has to be. I press it and it's on 350. Okay... it says that the turkey, once prepared, should be set in the oven at 325˚ F for around about 45 minutes.. or until the white thingy explodes. Okay. I can do that. I make sure the number reads 325 and then go back to Iggy.

"Done." I say with a triumphant smile.

"Great." He tells me with a returning smile. "You can help me by making the stuffing."

"Okay." I agree.

"Cook the sausage. I'm going to try something new and put some small bits of sausage into the stuffing."

"Okay. I think I can do that." He sets one of the big pans onto the stove. I know that one! He turns the stove on and adds the sausage that he has chopped into the pan.

"Just stir it every so often. Make sure that it doesn't burn, but make sure that it's cooked all the way, alright?" I nod and he walks off to do some other thing. The sausage hasn't done anything yet so I go back to the oven to see if the thing has preheated yet.

"MAX!" I hear from behind me. Fang is staring at the sausage that still hasn't done anything. Or... maybe it has. I can't be sure, the oven is too far away. I walk back over there to where the sausage has started cackling in the pan.

"Don't you know to never let a fire going unattended?" He reprimands me with a weird look on his face. Oh, right I knew that. I just smile at him and attend to my sausage. Great, I've forgotten to get something to stir it with. I'm just about to leave to go find one when I remember what Fang told me. I can't leave it here unattended. By now the sausage is smoking and it's making really loud cackling sounds. I delicately grasp the handle and try to shake it a little like I've seen them do in movies. I only end up getting some of the sausage out of the pan and seeing it fall into the fire under the burner. Whoops!

"Iggy! Where's the spoons?" I've set the pan back on the fire because it was getting heavy.

"I left you one right on the counter." I turn to see that yes, indeed he has left me a wooden mixing spoon.

"Oh! Thanks!" I take it and being to somewhat calmly stir the little cubes of sausage around the pan. It's smelling really good. I think it's cooked all the way. Great... now how do I turn off the fire? I open the cabinet underneath the stove. Oh! There's the knob! Weird place to put it, but I turn it. I hear a huge "Whoosh!" go above my head. It turns out that, that knob was not the fire control knob, it controlled the amount of gas feeding the fire. Now staring me in the face was a foot high fire which enveloped the pan, sausage, and was threatening to spread.

"Max!" Iggy comes running over and quickly turns the knob underneath the stove. Then he fiddles with some that are at the top of the stove and the fire goes out. Who would have thought to look there? Behind the two burners. Because that means you have to lean over your fire to reach it. That's just stupid.

"I... I..." I stammered.

"Are you all right?" He asks me.

"Yeah. Sorry... I didn't know that that was the thing for the gas. I thought that turned the fire off."

"All the way down there?"

"Yeah..." I felt mortified right there.

"Well... the sausage is done... a little burnt, but that's alright. Okay here's the rest of the ingredients. Add it little by little to the sausage so that you can mix it all in." He instructs.

"Can I please do something else? I really don't want to deal with the stove again!" He gives me a look and sees his attempts will be futile then directs me to another pan. Okay, this should be easy. I was just about to finish this up. Just put the marshmallows in neat rows all over the sweet potatoes, okay?" I nod. This I couldn't screw up, if I did, that would be such an epic fail. Thankfully, I do this without screwing up.

"Excellent." Iggy says when I come to tell him that I'm done. "Please keep an eye on this while I put this and the turkey in the oven." Yeah... we have two ovens, I almost never come in here and don't really care about the kitchen, but this is helpful on a day like this.

"Okay." I'm feeling very confident about the marshmallows so I think I'll be able to keep an eye on the stuffing for a few minutes. I stir every so often. It smells pretty darn good. I wish it would just be done already so I can try it! I reach across the burners to the controls and turn up the heat. (The correct one this time!)

"Iggy did leave me in charge of you!" Great... now I'm talking to the food. I'm going mental. I start humming to myself when Iggy comes back.

"Max..." He starts. Uh-oh... what did I do this time? "Did you by any chance stir the bottom of the stuffing too?"

"Erm... no. Was I supposed to?" I ask him.

"Yes."

"Oh, sorry... but I did turn the heat up!" That's when he grabs the wooden spoon out of my hand and takes over stuffing duty. The bottom came up a little blacker than usual. He just looks at me and sighs.

"Go help Fang." Is all he says trying to salvage what was left of the stuffing.

"Okay... sorry!" And I run to where Fang is on the other side of the kitchen.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

"Hey!" Max calls from behind me.

"Yo." I say and then return to my peeling potatoes.

"Iggy told me to help you." She says. Her voice is slightly higher pitched than usual. Oh boy, what did she do this time?

"Okay. You can help me by peeling these potatoes for the mashed potatoes." I tell her.

"Alright. Is there another one of those peeling thingies?" She asks me.

"Umm... yeah. Second drawer on the left. Don't you know where this stuff is? It is your kitchen."

"Yeahhh... I try to steer clear of here as much as possible. I don't know what a fourth of the things in this kitchen even are." She admits to me.

"And your parents don't know you're a terrible cook?" I confirm.

"Nope. Which is why they asked me to do this blasted dinner." She tells me as she begins to peel the potatoes. Which she was, of course, doing wrong.

"No, Max. You do it like this." I take quick, even, and precise strokes with my tool's blade and the skins right off. Max, on the other hand, is making very short, choppy, and hard strokes with her tool.

"I never knew that we could get two very different results with the same exact tool." I tell her. She just sticks her tongue at me. I've annoyed her and now she's just making even worse strokes.

"Here." I say and set down my potato and peeler and come stand behind her. I wrap both of my hands around each of hers. I move her fingers so she won't chop them completely off and force her to lighten her grip on the tool. I feel her tense up, then slowly relax. Her hair smells like green apple shampoo. Who knew? That's the same type Ms. Girly Nudge uses.

"Like this." I whisper in her ear. We proceed to silently finish the potato together.

"What are you guys doing?" Iggy's voice makes Max jump in front of me, causing the peeler to jerk sharply onto my hand. Ow! I wince slightly as blood started to run from the gash on my hand.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Max says in shock. Panicking, she threw a dish towel at me and ran to the first aid kit that was hanging on the wall. Well, she knows where that is, at least.

"Max calm down. It's okay, I'm a big boy, I've had worse." I laugh at her. She's worse than my mother!

"Out of the kitchen!" Iggy exclaims. Oh, I forgot, he was the cause of all this. I saunter out of the kitchen, Max on my heels.

"Let me see it!" She demands. I sigh and hand over my hand. Well... that sounded weird. She takes my arm and drags me to the nearest bathroom. She takes out an alcohal swab and proceeds to wipe away the blood surrounding the cut but careful not to get it inside of it. Thoughtful of her. Then she lifts it over the sink and runs some hydrogen peroxide over it. The cut bubbles, but not too bad.

"I really am sorry." She tells me again as she uses a cloth to dry my hand, still very conscious of not touching the gash.

"I know, it's fine Max." I assure her. She put some Neosporin on a band-aid then applied it to my cut. "Thanks." I tell her.

"You're welcome." She looks at me and I look back. The air feels charged with something. But she looks away and cleans up the trash on the bathroom counter.

"Umm... I'll finish in the kitchen with Iggy. He probably won't allow you back in there because you have a band-aid on." She tells me with a smile. "You'll probably 'contaminate' the food somehow!" She rolls her eyes at me and heads out the door. Silly Max.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Okay, let's just say that going back into that kitchen was the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life. I end up finishing the potatoes, remembering how it feels to have Fangs arms around me. It makes me blush just to think about it. The turkey is in the oven and so are the sweet potatoes. Iggy has come next to me to make the cranberry sauce.

"So what was going on with you two earlier?" He asks me.

"Nothing." But I blush, he doesn't miss it.

"It didn't look like 'nothing'." He says.

"It was. I am a lousy cook and Fang knows that. He was just helping me figure out how to peel the potatoes so I wasn't standing here all night." I explain.

"Really? That's all?" Iggy asks me.

"Yep. I mean he has a girlfriend. I'm just his friend. It's not like that between us." I say self-consciously.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Iggy says. "It's just that he never looks like that with Lissa."

"What?" I say shocked.

"I mean he's with her now, but I don't think it's going to last." He admits.

"Oh." Is all I can think of to say.

"Yeah." He says awkwardly. After a few moments of silent, awkward, work, I decide it's time to clear the air.

"So, I'll just finish up the potatoes." I say changing the subject.

"Alright. Just try not to break anything!" Iggy says with a smile.

"Yeah. Right." I say returning it. I finish peeling all the potatoes, still pondering what Iggy said. I don't know. Fang and Lissa looked pretty tight to me... but who am I to judge?

"Hey Iggy, where -" I start, but am cut off by Iggy's answer to my question... Am I getting that predictable?

"Third cabinet to your right." He says. I just stare at him. "You were going to ask me about the electric mixer, right?" He asks with his eyebrows raised, as if he's betting me to differ.

"Yeah. That's what I was going to ask." I reply with a sigh. Hey it rhymes! Whoa there Max, ADHD moment! I look under there and sure enough a fancy, high def, shiny, looks like it's never been used before, Kitchen-Aide mixer is staring me in the face. Okay... Now I just have to figure out how to turn the thing on. Oh, right, plug it in! I knew that! I was just making sure that you're still awake...

So, I plug it in and now it's not my fault when I come to a dead end. There were so many buttons on it that I have no clue where to even begin! When I press the power button, it's devilish eyes gleam to life and it stares at me, as if to say, come on, I _dare_ you to try me! With a determined glare at it, I push a random button. Then I realize that I forgot to put the potatoes in. Smart Max. I grab one of them and shove it into the connected mixing bowl. It splattered a little bit but made it to the bottom of the mixing bowl. Okay... only twenty more potatoes to go! Perfect! I'm not even going to try and stop it, so I keep shoving potatoes in it. It seems to work... but it's taking a really long time to even grind the full potatoes into a mush. I press the little plus button on the machine and it starts going faster. Yes! I got this, finally! I grab two more potatoes and shove them into the mixer. Then I press the plus sign a few more times... going a little faster won't hurt it... And, that's where it all went wrong. The machine goes crazy! The little blue screen said "System Overload" and instead of shutting down like a normal machine going into 'overload' would do, it goes freaking faster! As fast as it possibly can actually. Potatoes fly everywhere! On me, on the floor, on the counter, on the cabinets, and... almost impossibly, on the ceiling!

Well... Iggy finally came to the rescue. He hit a few buttons and the robot killer flying potato machine came to a stop. Of course we were both covered in mashed potatoes by that time so he just glares at me. That's when I know that I should leave. Immediately.

"I'll go now." I say looking down at the mess on the floor.

"Yeah, that would be good." He mutters darkly. I skedaddle out of there as fast as my legs will carry me. In the hallway, I run into a frozen looking Fang as he sees the latest addition to my wardrobe.

"Don't." I say holding up a mashed potato covered hand. He had opened his mouth to start but then was smart enough to close it. Yeah, he does not want to get me in a bad mood right now... sadly his fashionable sister Nudge, for some reason, did.

"Oh my gosh!" Nudge exclaims.

"Nudge..." I sigh.

"You are coming with me!" She commands me. "And you! You are going straight into the bathroom and changing into the clothes I just bought for you. No 'ifs, ands, or buts'! You hear?" By now she has him backed up against the wall. If I've ever seen Fang even close to scared, or rather, uncomposed, it was now.

Nudge shoved me into the bathroom and told me to "Hurry up and shower, or I'm coming in after you!". When I was done she threw something into the bathroom for me to put on. I put my undergarments on, not really paying attention but the balked when I saw the other piece of clothing she threw in here. That girl...! Ugh! I finish dressing in the bathroom, and stalked out of there. Nudge looked me over and said... "You'll do." Then turns me to my room, blow dries my hair, and proceeds to put my hair in a 'half-up-half-down' style. _Excuse me, but, what?_ Then somehow found the Tiffany's bow that I kept hidden in my closet was brought out and forced on me. Erm... stalker much? I cannot fathom how she even found... never mind. If I think of the possibilities, I'll get nightmares.

After almost poking my eye out with eyeliner and mascara, then smearing some light lipgloss on my lips, it was clear thank goodness, I snuck out of my bedroom into the hall. I was almost to the end when I heard a threatening...

"Oh, Maaaaax!" Coming from my bedroom. Shoot! I tried to escape but she caught up with me that sly little girl! She shoved some black heeled sandals at me and wouldn't leave until I put them on. The heel wasn't too high and the straps were simple but elegant. Oh dear... I just used the word 'elegant'... HELP!

I was trying not to let anyone see the awfulness of a dress on me, but I had to eat turkey one way or another... Fang looks at me for a bit and I look back. His eyes widened for a second then came to stand next to me. He picked up a lock of my hair and examined it.

"Wow, you look like an actual... girl." He says with wonder.

"There's a reason for that..." I reply with my eyes narrowed to slits. **(A/N: Thank you James Patterson) **We stare at each other for a while more, then were both holding in our laughs.

"You do look nice though." Fang says while we make our way to the dining table.

"Thanks." That's when I get a good look at Fang's outfit. He was wearing black dress pants and a black collared shirt. I ran my fingers over the collar, turning it out because on side had flipped up funny.

"You don't look so bad yourself." I remark.

"Nudge got to me." He replied with a smirk. We laughed again at that. I guess I should describe my dress to all you girly girls out there. You'll never forgive me if I don't... It's all black and simple. It was pretty modest. Halter, with straps that made an 'X' on the back which connected to the back right under my shoulder blades. The fabric was loose enough that I could eat my fill without feeling like I would rip my dress if I ate a bite. It ended right above my knees. The only other piece of decoration, was a simple satin bow, tied around my waist with the bow at the hip. To tell you the truth, I loved it! Other than my Tiffany's necklace, I wore no jewelry.

As I enter the dining room Iggy lets out a low whistle.

"Wow Max! You sure clean up good!" I roll my eyes and punch him in the arm. Jeb, Ann, and Ari have returned while I was upstairs getting the 'special treatment'. Anne wore a burgundy professional looking top and a pencil black skirt. She also had on her killer stilettos. How women can walk in them? I'll never know. Jeb was in his business suit, but had a tie that had Autumn leaves on it. Ari was adorable in an orange, green, and brown plaid shirt with brown pants. Alice and the rest of the gang was there. Iggy's parents too. Ella couldn't make it that night because her family had prior engagements. Jeb comes up behind me and squeezes my shoulder.

"Thank you so much Max! This looks amazing!" He tells me. Fang must have set the table while I had my run-in with the blender. Nudge had probably done the place card settings and the bouquet in the middle of the table.

"I had a lot of help. Iggy's an amazing chef!" I admit to him. He just gives me a big smile.

"Where did you get that dress? You look nice." He says.

"Nudge." Is all I said. That was all the explanation he needed. He nodded and after helping Ann into her seat, took his at the head of the table.

When everyone was seated, we all grabbed hands- Fang on my left, Nudge on my right. Jeb starts leading the prayer. I don't really pay attention till the end when I hear him say "_Amen."_ The thought of food runs through my mind and I can't stand it any longer. I stare at the feast in front of me sitting right on the table, taunting me when I realize there's no turkey.

"Dang it, I forgot the turkey on the counter. Sorry, I'll be right back." I get up from my chair and walk into the kitchen. I look around for the turkey on a nice plate but couldn't find one. I probably spun around three times looking for the turkey. The kitchen was big, but not big enough for me not to spot it from the center of it. I run back into the dining room and look at everyone.

"The turkey's gone." I say bluntly and everyone looks at each other dumbfounded. Finally, Nudge looks up.

"Wow, you almost had me there! Now come on, I'm starrvvinngg!" she said beaming. She wasn't the only one with an empty stomach here! What happened to the turkey? Let me tell you ahead of time, I made three unforgivable mistakes. **#1: I actually believed that I **_**lost**_** a stupid turkey **- Strike 1. **#2: The first time I glanced around the kitchen I failed to recognize the oven was on fire with smoke coming out of it -**- Strike 2. And **#3: The turkey was stuck inside of the burning oven.** Strike 3. I'm out.

After I saw the oven was on, I grabbed oven mitts, jammed them onto my hands, turned the oven off (correctly) and opened it. Big mistake. Even more smoke filled the kitchen, getting onto my face, my hair, and my dress. The turkey wasn't only burned, it was BLACK. You know how some people don't mind the crispy bits of a slightly over-done piece of meat? Well this isn't the meat that person is looking for. Pure black, no edible parts left. I grabbed the turkey tray and dropped it on top of the stove, letting it... air out. After opening the windows, thank goodness we have some in this kitchen, so the fire alarm doesn't go off, (by some miracle it hasn't... yet), I turn around and Fang is in the doorway of the kitchen staring at the black piece of unintelligible crispy bird sitting on top of the island.

"Um... I think it's a little over-done." I say forcing a smile. Fang smiles back and actually starts laughing a bit. I walk back into the dining room, Fang right behind me. I don't need to turn around to know he's laughing at me.

"Um guys... Sorry to ruin the party, but the turkey is _bad_." Everyone already knew though. The smoke and scent of something burning kind of gave it away. Nudge being Nudge tried to make the mood better.

"That's alright! We can have mashed potatoes with gravy, ham, stuffing, carrots and peas, and cranberry sauce!" she says brightly. Everyone laughs and start digging in. Oh geez... You think I can live off of that? You're dead wrong. But, it was still one of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had!

**How's that for a Thanksgiving feast? Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry, it's been long and Thanksgiving doesn't exactly match up with Christmas, but too bad! Hope everyone got what they wanted! Sorry for the long wait, once again, but this is a good LATE Christmas surprise to wake up to right? Nah, we're just playing. Hope you had a sincerely wonderful Christmas (and if we don't get another chapter up in time) New Years! WE LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**Fly on!**

**NarutoLover7890 and Mx2Blue326**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone!**

**Mx2Blue326 again. So, we're hoping to speed things up a bit so were kinda sorta in the same time frame of the year. We have some exciting surprises this chapter... such as a certain show that the characters have been working very hard to perform for you. New relationships, etc. :D**

**You see? This is why it is important to read author's notes, now you know what's happening! So we'll keep this nice, short, and sweet. (Unlike last time!)**

**Disclaimer:**

**Well, I woke up this morning and called my best friend. She picked up and we started randomly chatting about cupcakes. Later, we got together and she told me how my voice sounded **_**SUPER**_** high... Is this story supposed to make sense? No. Is there a point to it? Yes. My voice is a girl voice and that's enough to prove to you readers I am not James Patterson. Correct? Correct. **

**But, all rights go to James Patterson and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Also, we forgot to mention but the term "crapola" comes from author Kimberly Pauley who wrote the "Sucks to Be Me" Series... very entertaining by the way... so thank you to all of you.**

**Here we go!**

**Chapter 11**

**Max's POV**

"Okay... let's run the "All I Ask of You" scene!" Mrs. Leekly's voice rang through the auditorium. We were in the final two weeks before the opening night and I was kind of freaking. We now had to make sure we had all of our lines memorized and the songs too. We needed to rehearse all of the set changes and costume changes. The final fitting for the costumes were this week as well. Mrs. Leekly wanted it all basically in order by the end of the week. Next week we would just be running through the entire show over and over or, if needed, working on trouble spots. Sam and I take our places in the left wing of the stage. We were supposed to dance our waltz first. Thanks to Fang I finally got it down! Fang was hidden in the shadows on the other side of the curtain. He waved slightly and smiled at Sam and I. We grinned back.

"Ready everyone?" Mrs. Leekly asked smiling in anticipation. This was only the second time we were running this scene. The sets and props people had to finish the sets for this scene.

"We are." Sam said for both of us. He wiggled his eyebrows at me. I couldn't help but burst out laughing. He raised his finger to his lips. Whoops! I slap my hand over my mouth. He just chuckles silently back at me. We were supposed to be quiet over here. That dork. I hope he doesn't do this during the performances, I would be helpless. I also had the feeling that Mrs. Leekly wouldn't appreciate it all that much. She was cool about coming late to advisory and small things like that, but the Theatre was something she took very seriously. Especially that we were down to only two weeks till opening night.

"I'm ready." Came Fang's voice from the other side of the stage. I knew he was getting into his character, like I should be right about now. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them I was no longer in a small town in Arizona, I was transported to France in the late 1800's. I was Christine Daae.

"Then let's begin." The lights in the audience went out and Sam held his arm out to me. I took it and we walked out onto the stage. The music started and we began our waltz. It wasn't in the original but Mrs. Leekly wanted us to put it in. I stopped as I was supposed to. Admitting to him that I was scared of the Phantom. Thankfully, I had memorized this scene already because the song in it was one of my favorites. When we were done with the dialogue, I stepped away from him, my face to the audience. I made myself vulnerable, scared, and innocent. Everything that the real Christine would have projected, if she were me.

The notes of "All I Ask of You" drifted from the piano. My heart picked up it's pace as it always did before I sang in the auditorium. Everything wen't smoothly until...

_**Say you love me. **_

I sang to Sam, this time I was able to look him in the eye without fear of him staring back. He did, his eyes tender and bright. He played his part very well.

_**You know I do.**_

He sang back earnestly.

Then, in unison, we sang:

_**Love me, that's all I ask of you.**_

The music break started and we both looked awkwardly at each other. We were never sure what to do at this part. A hug would be way too short and we didn't know what else to do, so we just stood there like statues eyeing each other nervously... so much for staying in character. When the music picked up we sang again and the rest of the scene played out smoothly. At the end of rehearsal Mrs. Leekly gave us the talk that she always does. Telling us the good, the bad, what to work on and do next time, and what we would should prepare for next rehearsal after school tomorrow.

"Max and Sam, may I see both of you for a minute. Everyone else, you're dismissed! See you tomorrow!" She announces at the end of her speech. Sam and I exchange glances... I thought we had done pretty good today. What does she need us for?

"Okay, you're both doing wonderfully! You sound amazing and really get into the character." Mrs. Leekly enthused. OK. Now we were both plainly confused. What was it that she needed to tell us? We both exchanged glances. "Now, I just need you to do a teensy-weensy little something for me..." She trails off smiling at both of us. Okay, now I'm just scared. Whenever an adult says 'teensy-weensy' in any sentence, I know nothing good is coming next. Turns out... I was right.

*ooOoo*

**Sam's POV**

_What?_ That was the only word that was going through my head right now. Mrs. Leekly just said - _what?_ Okay, okay, I know you're wondering what she asked us... but I'm not going to tell you, because it's just too embarrassing. Plus, you'll find out soon enough.

"Ummm..." Max at least can speak. She's staring at Mrs. Leekly as if she had just admitted that she had a third eye, webbed feet, and ran around the school parking lot every morning in her underwear. I can't make myself look directly at Max. But can't help but sneak a peek out of the corner of my eye.

"I know, it will take a little getting used to... but it needs to be done." Mrs. Leekly says apologetically to us. Max's eyebrows are lost in her hairline, as if to say, '_Really? That's funny because you never mentioned this earlier... hm... like maybe when we first given our stupid parts!' _I can almost feel the hostility rolling off of her in dark, menacing, waves.

"Max, are you alright?" Mrs. Leekly's brow is knit together in concern. "I didn't think it would be that bad... it's what's done in the professional industry." I can almost hear Max's eyes rolling and some snippy remark about how this '_ain't Broadway and would rather rather have splinters shoved under her fingernails than do what was being asked of her'._ But she's got a little more grace than that... barely. She just smiles slightly, a hysterical look on her face, and lets out a little 'uh-huh' then runs out of there as fast as her legs will carry her. Which, I must admit, is pretty fast. I let out a sigh as I watch her leave.

"Mr. Lawrence... is she always like this?" Mrs. Leekly has one arm across her stomach the other perched on it, and a hand on her face. She had her eyes closed.

"I think so." I tell her with a laugh.

"You don't have a problem with this... do you?" She asks me.

"Nope." I almost snort in ridicule. She has no idea...

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

"And she asked us to do this and what am I supposed to do?" I almost scream at Fang. He's silent beside me, ever helpful as usual. He smiles slyly at me and chuckles. "That was NOT funny!" I scream at him.

"On the contrary, you're hysterical. It's nothing." He says with a smirk.

"Maybe to you... but..." I trail off.

"You've never done it before." It comes out more of a statement than a real question.

"Nope." I say popping the 'p'. "Never."

"Don't fret over it. Let's just go get something to eat - I'm starving." He gets to his feet offering me his hand. I follow him down to his kitchen, this time we were at his house.

"Pick whatever you want." He says gesturing around the big kitchen. I nod my thanks. I head to the fridge and open the heavy door. Cool air brushes against my face as I look for something cold to drink... I know I need it!

"Want split one?" I ask him, holding up a vitamin water.

"Sure." I one and two cups and see that he microwaved a bag of popcorn. After putting it in a big bowl, we head back upstairs. Fang sets the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table then goes off to do something. I'm busy pouring the drinks.

When Fang comes back in the room I walk up and meet him with his drink in my hand. Handing it to him with both hands he unexpectedly grabs not only the cup, but catches my other hand in his own. Pulling me to him he leans down and kisses me right on the mouth. I'm too stunned to do anything, so I just stand there. My eyes are wide open, staring at his long lashes and closed eyelids, my lips frozen, his aren't. He pulls back slowly. My cheeks are flooding with color and I turn on my heel and head back to sink down on the couch. I can't believe that just happened.

"Well... now you've done it." He said with a twinkle in his eye. He casually brings his cup up to that playful mouth and takes a sip of the vitamin water. Jerk, he didn't even spill a single drop!

"What. Do. You. Think. You. Were. Doing?"

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

Max is still stunned. Her lips are slightly pursed and she's just staring straight ahead. She refuses to look my way.

"Doing what?" I tease her with a smile. She looks at me, the blushes and quickly glances away.

"Uhm..." Was her oh-so-coherent reply.

"It was just a kiss." I tell her.

"But... why?" She asks.

"Because you were nervous about kissing Sam, right?" I ask.

"Yeeessss..." She says slowly.

"You told me you've never been kissed and were worried so I just thought I'd make it easier." I explain.

"Oh." A look of relief and then something else passed over her face... disappointment? No, I disregard the thought when she looks at me again - she looks really annoyed and then, worried, and then finally embarrassed.

"What's the matter?" Now I'm worried... maybe I shouldn't have kissed Max. I didn't really think anything of it at the time. She has that weird look on her face again.

"Was... it... okay?" She asks me, her cheeks are now bright red and she's studiously studying the carpet.

"Was it... okay?" I repeat. Great, now she's got me embarrassed too. "Yeah, it was fine." I tell her. "We didn't really do anything." I admit with a grin. She was frozen as a statue when I kissed her. The look on her face when I did was priceless! Just like the hilarious mask of relief she was wearing now. I laugh out loud.

"What?" She asks me a small smile playing at the edges of her cute lips. Cute? O sheesh, never kissing my best 'girl' friend again! *Sigh, you know what I mean!

"You expression right now, priceless!" I say between belts of laughter. A sly smile creeps up onto her face, now you could see the little dimple on her right cheek. I'm a little distracted by that but the light in her eyes has me on my feet.

"Take that back." She says enunciating every word with perfect clarity. She looks like a predator ready to strike their prey. A predator confident of victory.

"Nope." I reply, sealing my fate. Now's the part of the story where the prey runs as fast as humanly possible out of the room away from the Fang-eating Max-a-saurus. Ironic, huh?

*ooOoo*

**Lissa's POV**

Fang and I have never had an awkward relationship, but tonight the silence was somewhat brutal. He's never raised his voice or gotten mad, so he's really what I'd call a perfect boyfriend! Well, back to the present. For my birthday dinner, Fang promised me to take me to that Italian restaurant so here we are, sitting in a booth sitting across from each other and waiting for our food. Fang ordered spaghetti and I ordered a salad and soup (Minestrone this time), as usual. I mean, I seriously need to watch my weight!

"Are you sure you really only want a salad and a cup of soup?" The waitress asks as she confirms our orders. She has a bright smile and has her brown highlighted hair tied back in a tight ponytail.

"Yup, I'm fine. Thanks!" I reply back. Fang feels kind of distant... Did something happen? Maybe I said something... Ugh, he's so quiet and doesn't ever speak his mind with me. Finally I can't take the silence anymore, call me impatient.

"Fang?" I start gently. "Is everything alright?" His eyes meet mine and his face breaks into an easy smile.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Okay... you've just been awfully quiet!" I say through slightly quenched teeth, this was supposed to be my birthday and he wasn't paying too much attention to me. I know I sound vain... and I try not to! It's just sometimes I can't help it. I'm still a regular teenage girl... remember? "If you want to talk about something, I'm all ears." I prod.

"Nope. Nothing's wrong. You must be imagining things." He says giving a little chuckle.

"Okay." I say with a smile. This is more like the Fang I know. "So, how's rehearsal coming?" I ask him to keep the conversation going. I immediately know this was the wrong question to ask. Fang's smile disappears and he's suddenly very serious.

"It's fine." He says shortly.

"Oh, mine are good too." I say. "Are you and Max getting the feel of everything?" I already know that Sam is doing fine, he's one of those guys that are well rounded - even in Show Biz.

"Yep. Max finally learned how to do the waltz." He says with a far-off look in his eyes. His slight smile once more graces his handsome features.

"That's good. Was she having trouble before?" I pry.

"Something like that." He says wryly.

"Really? Like what?" I ask. He pretends to not hear me and takes a sip of his coke.

"Do you know what you're going to do for the Winter Dance?" He asks me changing the subject.

"No..." I say, automatically switching to "flirtatious mode". I look at him through my eyelashes. "You have anything in mind?" He looks kind of nervous now. Good. I like them edgy.

"Do you want to go with me?" He asks looking at his hands resting on the table.

"Of course! I thought you'd never ask!" I exclaim. Yes! Now I have to go shopping for a new dress!

"Cool." He replies with a small smile. Our waitress finally appears again with our orders.

"The soup and salad for you, and the spaghetti and meatballs, for you." She says finishing with her eyes on Fang. That's when I realize, how could I have been so stupid not to, that she's totally hitting on him.

"That's great, thanks!" Fang says with a small smile at her.

"No problem. Is there anything else I can get for you?" She say to Fang, batting her eyelashes impressively. Yeah, sure, hows about a certain someones phone number?

"Nope. I think we're all good. Lissa?" He turns to me.

"No I'm fine, thank you." I say with a big smile at her. I put my hand casually on Fang's to show her he's mine. "I've got everything I need." She just smiles a big fake smile at me before walking off. That'll show her who she's messing with.

"This looks good." Fang says picking up his napkin. He's one of the guys I know that actually uses one! Bonus! He closes his eyes for a few seconds and mutters something under his breath. Right, he's kind religious. Not like he goes to church every Sunday, but he still prays before meals. It's cool. He's one of those guys who actually sentimental and cares about what a girl feels or how he feels about her. He won't just go after a girl because he thinks she's hot.

"It does. I agree." And delicately spear a carrot slice to nibble on from my salad. I sample the soup too - it's really good. "I like it here." I say with a grin.

"I do too." Fang replied. We continued to eat in silence.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Fang had paid the bill, ever the gentleman, and ignored the slip of paper with the waitress's phone number on it. I beamed to myself.

"So..." I started as we headed out.

"Oh... ummm... do you want your birthday present now?" Fang asks.

"Awww! You're so sweet!" I say reaching up and kissing him on the cheek. We stand in front of the restaurant and he pulls out a little box. Jewlery! It must be! I glance up at him, he's looking off into the distance... maybe he's nervous about if I like it or not.

I undo the ribbon and open the box until I see a small silver charm. The charm is in the shape of a delicate five pointed star. Wow...

"It's for your charm bracelet." He explained.

"It's gorgeous! I love it!" I say enthusiastically. In my head, I'm still in shock. I thought that the charm would at least be a heart or something... we're going out after all!

"Good." He says, a small half smile on his face. "Nudge helped me pick it out."

"Oh cool! It will go great with my other charms." Sigh...

"Ready to head home?" He asks me.

"Yep." I reply and we start walking home. Fang isn't one of the super touchy guys, but he normally at least holds my hand... so I find it really funny when he doesn't grab my hand, especially with it being my birthday and all.

Finally we reach my house.

"I had a great time. Thanks Fang." I say, reach up twining my arms around his neck and kiss him on his full lips. His hand automatically wind around my waist, but I could tell he wasn't really into it.

"I did too." Came his late reply. "Hope you had a nice birthday." He face breaks into his small smiles. I've seen his "real" smiles, they only ever happen when he's alone and he thinks no one's watching or when he's with Max. It's not fair. I smile in return and he leans down and kisses me gently on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Lissa." He says a distant look on his face. As I watch him walk away I can't help but feel a sharp stab of pain in my chest. The way he said it, it sounded like he was saying, "Goodbye".

*ooOoo*

**Sam's POV**

"Are you ready?" I ask Max. She looks kinda nervous, I am too, but I try not to show it, if not for my sake, for hers. I don't want to make this any more difficult than it needs to be.

"Yep." She gives me a small smile and we head into the auditorium.

"All right people! We have one week left! Are you ready for Hell Week?" Mrs. Leekly says with a huge smile. There's mixed reactions all around, some whooping enthusiastically and some loud groans from others. Max and I keep silent.

"Okay. I want to run the "All I Ask of You" scene one more time? Alright?" Oh great, that's our cue. I sigh and offer Max my hand.

"Let's do this thing." I mutter as we walk up the aisle. She nods and we take our places on stage.

"Okay... remember what we've discussed and good luck!" Mrs. Leekly is beaming at us. We just kind of exchange glances and smile nervously. Before the music starts, I talk softly to Max.

"Max, if you don't want to do this, that's fine. We can tell Mrs. Leekly that it just won't work." I want her to know that I'm not going to force her to do something she doesn't want to do... no matter how much I want to.

"Thanks, Sam. But it's just for the show, right? It'll be fine." She smiles softly at me and then winks. I turn and nod at our accompanist and the music begins. Max looks around nervously, just like she's supposed to. I automatically feel that knee jerk reaction to protect this beautiful girl standing in front of me. Max is way to good at acting for her own good. At least we're getting into character!

Finally it's time. For the big moment of truth. Crap! Here goes nothing!

_**Say you love me. **_

Max sings staring deep into my eyes.

_**You know I do.**_

You have no idea how much, Max, I sing my eyes soft on hers.

Finally together we sing:

_**Love me, that's all I ask of you.**_

I gently take her face in my hands and she closes her eyes and tilts her head upward to greet mine. Our lips touch and I'm home. Her lips are silky smooth under mine and I just kiss her ever so gently, as if she was made of glass, and she could break in any second. She kisses me just as soflty, then, get this, tilts her head to one side so we can kiss better. Her right hand is resting on my chest, right over my beating heart, and her left hand is cupping my neck. My arms have moved from her face and have settled around her in a gentle embrace. _Oh my God, this is me, and MAX, kissing! _I think, lost in her kiss - she's an amazing kisser. Guys, imagine the girl of your dreams in Max's place and you in mine, then you might get a tiny inkling of what I'm feeling right now. I can hear our classmates tittering on as we kiss. Finally we break apart both of us flushed and wide eyed. I don't remember finishing the end of the song, but somehow we do, to the cat calling, wolf whistling, and cheering coming from our audience. Mrs. Leekly is grinning at us, clapping enthusiastically. Greeaaaat. Max just looks at me, rolls her eyes, and smiles. I beam back at her as we head back down the stairs to our seats. Maybe it's just me, but I think that went rather well...

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

I'm frozen. My mind is still working but my body won't respond. Seeing her kiss Sam has sharpened all my senses. I feel a slight pang in my chest as I watch them wrapped in each other's arms. Then I almost slap myself. Why should I even care? I shouldn't. Yep, that's right! Max is my best friend... it's probably just those 'brotherly' feelings I feel toward her. I only want what's best for her, like I would feel for Nudge, Totally normal, _right_, feelings. My thoughts come back to the present when I see them break apart and continue with the scene. I take a deep breath, not realizing that I was holding it.

I'm keep telling myself that I don't care and that it's perfectly normal for me to feel something just because she's been like a sister to me. But a small nagging voice in the back of my head is asking me, _"Why were you able to breathe again once they broke apart?"_

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

We move onto the dungeon scene where the Phantom has kidnapped Cristine and is holding her hostage. He has been 'unmasked'. It's pretty trippy in the movie, but here, and now, it's just Fang and I goofing off having fun. That's because something went wrong with the set backstage, or something like that, and Mrs. Leekly had to go see to it. That's fine by me. I could use a break after my public make out session with Sam. No offense to him at all, he's a very good kisser... as far as I could tell. I did kiss Fang that one time, but it hardly counted. It's normal that a girl kisses her best guy friend... it just happened for us 10 years later than usual. No big. Even though Dylan is still one of my good friends, he had a thing for J.J. back when we were younger. They were the ones that 'kissed'. I say, good for them, they deserve each other (I'm being sincere, not like those movies where the guy cheats on the girlfriend and the other girl is the really popular mean queen bee?) Yeahhhh...

Anyway, Mrs. Leekly calls Fang and I to attention, well me that is, Fang has to elbow me gently in the ribs to get me out of my muddled thoughts. I start and then focus on Mrs. Leekly.

"Could I speak to you two for a second?" Mrs. Leekly motions for us to come to the edge of the stage where she's standings. We lean down so that we can hear her.

"Max, you did such a good job with Sam! You guys executed that scene perfectly... even with your goofy classmates." She said with a smile. I just smile back and blush. I can feel Fang tense up beside me. Hmmm... wonder what his problem is.

"Okay, you did so great with that scene that I want to complicate this one for you both!" She says grinning. Okay, I know maybe I'm just paranoid, but this did not sound good. "I'm totally kidding. I don't mean 'complicate' exactly, but I do want to add to it." At this Fang and I exchange nervous glances. This is not going good.

"I need you to kiss. A few times actually. Christine really needs to be frightened, sympathetic, and in love with both of these guys at the same time." She says. My eyes bug out and Fang just blinks, meaning complete and utter astonishment on his part.

"What?" I snap.

"Oh come one Max, you've kissed Sam before! It's not going to mean anything - I'm sorry, but it's show biz. And your kissing Nick. What's not to like?" She wiggles her eyebrows at me and laughs and I know by the way she acts that she wasn't doing it to be weird or anything - just because she's probably only 30 years old and the most on-the-same-wave-length as us sort of teacher there is. She was just teasing me - in an oddly serious and true sort of way.

"Fine." I sigh. She squeals in delight and claps her hands together. "Perfect!" She beams at us.

"Okay places everyone! Let's get this show on the road!" She demands turning around to face the rest of the students.

"Are you okay with this?" I ask Fang.

"Yeah, sure, it's just for the show." Fang replied with a smile.

"Yeahhh..." I trail off. The lights dim and we take our places. Fang wraps his long fingers around my wrist and when the lights come on pull me with him into his "lair". His mask is off and suddenly the perfect moment appears to put Mrs. Leekly's plan into action.

Right now, Fang looks livid. Mad and humiliated that he's been unmasked by his one true love. I reach up and cup his cheek in my hand (the side that would be altered by makeup for the real show) and make my face completely sympathetic, in awe, and of course saturated with love. Fang's stopped his lines in surprise and that's good, it's what would have happened. The conductor sees what's happening and music starts around us, soft, but building. I become one with the music as it grew so did my movements.

I now held Fang's face between both of my hands. Then swept up in the moment I raised up to the tips of my toes and closed my eyes pressing my slightly parted lips against his surprised ones. His arms slowly wrap around me and gently pull me closer, turning his head to kiss me better. He wasn't forceful at all, just gentle, soft, warm, and solid. My best friend. Finally murmurs from the audience made me break away from him. He has this look on his face that I can't quite place. His eyes are lit up with something I've never seen before but then go blank once more as we continue with the scene.

At the end, when he says I can go and Sam has come to rescue me, I go back to him once more. I take off the engagement ring and head back to where he's sitting with his head in his hands. I touch him on the shoulder and he looks up a look of hope on his face. I almost have tears on my face as I catch his hand in mine and place the ring in his palm. His fingers close over it and he looks away, I know his face looks broken. Improvising, for Mrs. Leekly of course, I put my fingers under his chin and make him face me. His eyes are blank. Even with him sitting, he's only a few inches shorter. This kind of annoys me but makes what I do next a lot easier. I hold his face in my hands and press my lips once more to his. One of his hands holds my waist and other holds my cheek. This one is shorter. I break away, slowly. And kiss him once more, this time on the cheek then I run back to where Sam is waiting supposedly behind the dungeon wall so he couldn't see me and Fang's last exchange.

When the scene is over there's thunderous applause from the audience and Mrs. Leekly beckons for the three of us to come out. Fang is on my right and Sam on my left. They each bow and then gesture for me to receive applause as well. Knowing I'll be in a dress, I raise my right hand to my chest and my left hand out for balance, then I execute a perfect curtsy for the audience.

Mrs. Leekly's voice raises over the applause. "Great rehearsal everyone! From the top, with bows!"

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

I could hear the audience. That was with no doubt. What I was in doubt of was my talent and confidence. The audience had no desire to calm down and stop with their talking as I tried to go over the whole play together in my head, so, I was behind the stage, crouched down, and hugging onto my knees like a sad little girl who got her balloon taken away. Out of the corner of my eye I could see two leather shoes coming my way- Fang.

"Hey, don't worry. You'll be fine. We've been over this a hundred times backwards and forwards. It'll come naturally when you're out there. I promise." He tried to sound encouraging. I guess you could say it kind of helped... Well, then I heard the squeak of the the speakers and Ms. Leekly tapping the microphone a lot- very unnecessary. She cleared her voice and then began- the cue to everyone to pick up their dresses or unnecessarily long capes to get their butts to their positions in twenty seconds. In other words, I stood up, hiked up my dress in both hands and _ran_.

"Ahem- Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you SO much for being here with your busy schedules and all. I'm sure your children are so thrilled to have you come on opening night. Please keep in mind of how much time, work, and effort each and every one of them put into making this musical the _absolutely amazing performance it is today_! Thank you again, and now I present to you, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera!" The clapping continued for another ten seconds and I heard Ms. Leekly's heels clacking off the stage. The lights dim, everything was eerily quiet, and then I heard the orchestra start playing... _Crap, that's the cue._

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

Everything was going great! Max was doing an awesome job! No one messed up yet - thankfully. Though we've just finished "Think of Me"... hmmm... so we're not exactly that far into the performance but that's alright. We're all on our toes because this is opening night! Max comes off the stage and her eyes are shining. She has a quick change but stops to give me a quick hug.

"I didn't fall on my face or anything, yet!" She whispers and beams at me, slightly breathless.

"You did wonderfully." I whisper back. She runs to the quick change room and comes out a minute later in a whole new outfit. She looks breathtakingly beautiful. She flashes me a quick smile and goes to the wings where the next scene would unfold. Time for the Phantom to reveal himself. I walk to my spot in the mirrored cupboard and wait.

Being out on stage is at first, very intimidating. The bright lights on you and the hundreds of eyes staring at your every move. I could only see the first few rows, but enough to make out Max's parents and mine. Creepy. But soon I'm lost in the scene and it's like they're not even there.

It's right before intermission, and I'm catching my breath. Max and Sam are just about to preform their "All I Ask of You" scene. The audience is rapt with wonder at the professional performance we were pulling off. I even had to admit, with the makeup (I only have a little powder and my "ruined face", but I can't help that), the hair, costumes, lights, and audience, this has been extraordinary. I'm snapped back to the play when I hear the notes of "All I Ask of You" straining from the orchestra pit. They sound fabulous. The acoustics in this auditorium are fabulous. Sam starts singing and I watch them from the wings.

Finally they've gotten to the part of the play that makes me wary. It always gives me that weird feeling, no matter that I know it's all for show... I can't help but feel awkward and somehow violated as I see Max in Sam's arms. It's pretty creepy. Oh great, here it goes. (You know the drill.)

_**Say you love me. **_

Max sings.

_**You know I do.**_

Sam sings back.

_**Love me, that's all I ask of you.**_

And that's when the start kissing passionately. I turn away and head to my place where I shall "reveal" myself later. Good thing the Phantom's not supporting this relationship, if he was supposed to, I would ruin the part! When they're finally done I'm able to breathe again. I wait for my cue to reappear on the stage.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Kissing Sam is pretty good. I've gotten used to it, kind of, now that we've done it like five times in rehearsals. He definitely meets all the requirements that I've read and heard about. I'm glad that he actually respects me and my space, he's not taking advantage of the situation, I appreciate that.

At the end of the scene, Fang is on stage, vowing that he will get us. He looks angry and hurt. I'm really glad that he's playing his role so well. Everyone is doing so amazing tonight!

The curtain comes down to astounding applause and all of us backstage let out a breath I didn't know we'd been holding. Fang comes into the wings and we walk straight into each other's arms. Wow, don't kill me if that sounded like a cheesy romance novel, because that wasn't what I was going for. Really.

"You did amazing out there!" I congratulate him.

"Me? Nah, you were the star!" He says with a smile. We're still holding each other when I hear a little cough coming from behind me. I let my arms fall to my side and turn to see Lissa watching us. She has no expression on her face. But her eyes are full of emotion. A sort of annoyance mixed with a sad understanding. I turn away to go head to the dressing rooms in the basement and change. They need some time alone. She is his girlfriend after all.

On my way down the stairs, I'm stopped by Sam who pulls me into a hug.

"You were absolutely beautiful out there!" He gushes. A big smile on his handsome features.

"Thanks! You were amazing too!" I say, my answering smile just as big.

"Did you hear all of our classmates? They were so loud!" He complained, but he still had a twinkle in his eye so I knew he wasn't too mad. How could anyone be right now? We were all swept up in the show.

"Yeah. The catcalls and wolf whistles are getting a little old." I say blushing with a smile. I know he's referring to when we were kissing. It seemed half the school turned out the see the performance and had been quite satisfied with our little public makeout session.

"Tell me about it. You should go get changed. See you up there Miss. Daae." He says with a wink then a salute.

"Of course... Raoul." I wiggle my eyebrows and continue my descent to hair, makeup, and my next costume.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

I have to admit, I was swept up in the moment. We were at the dungeon scene where I have kidnapped Christine after she has betrayed me by taking off my mask. I'm ranting and raving and pacing the floor of the 'dungeon'. I stop enough to show the audience and 'Christine' how heartbroken, embarrassed, mad, and saddened I am by what she's exposed me as. I stop in utter shock as I see Max's face open, and vulnerable. She's in her role 110%, as am I. I can feel her lips on mine the second before she reaches up and kisses me. Slow, tender, soft, and warm. The phantom may look rugged and hard, but inside he's soft and gentle, especially to his lover and muse.

I freeze when I feel something wet, small, and delicate slide onto my cheek. Max was crying. Her lips trembled under mine and I hold her close, he lips slightly parting. One of my hands holds her cheek the other is buried in her hair. Her hands were wrapped around my neck. This kiss goes on longer than the others we've had to do in rehearsals. It was heaven.

When I pull away from her we stare into each other's eyes looking for answers. There's nothing except confusion, we've both locked our feelings up again. But something changed right then. I don't know what it was, but I knew we both felt it. **(A/N: Hmmm... wonder where that one came from...)**

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

The last note hangs in the air as the audience is silent, spellbound by our performance. When the curtains go down, the applause is thunderous, the cheering is so loud it's a wonder that they weren't breaking the glass or something. The curtain rises once again and everyone goes out in order of importance for our final bows.

Sam and Fang stand on either side of me ready to go out on stage to accept our applause. The three of us join hands as we walk onto the stage. Sam goes out first, as planned, and executes a perfect bow. If possible, the applause gets even louder. Everyone loves Sam. Fang goes next, looking like gentleman in his flowing black cape and black eye mask. The girls cheers are high pitched and screeching as they swoon over the dashing Fang. Both of my male partners hold their arms out to me and I step forward to have my turn in the spotlight. Just I practiced with Fang I slip down into a deep and graceful curtsy, drawing myself up without falling, tripping, or wobbling. VICTORY! The applause is deafening when I'm finally back on two feet. Wow... that much applause... for me?

I'm beaming from ear to ear as someone throws me a red rose. Even though I'm playing a lady, I'm still Max, and reach forward to easily catch it. I sniff it, look at Ari who I saw was the one who threw it, and curtsy once again specially to him and then blow him a kiss. We all join hands, Fang on my right, Sam on my left and we bow again. Well, they bow, I curtsy. We guesture to the orchestra pit and the conductor and orchestra rise for their applause. We call the stage hands out on stage too for their turn in the spotlight. Then Mrs. Leekly is called up on the stage and she graciously nods to the crowd accepting her applause. The rest of the cast joins us and we all take one more bow, everyone the same this time, then straighten with our arms high in the air. We bow once more then wave as the curtain closes over the standing ovation of the crowd. What a night!

*ooOoo*

**Sam's POV**

After the final curtain went down, we all started hugging each other. Max hugged Fang then Fang went to find Lissa. Max turned to me next. I wrap my arms around her and give her a big hug. We're both holding each other when I get this sudden desire to kiss her. No one's looking, they're all wrapped up in the excitement, I pull back slightly and lean down and kiss her right on the mouth. She freezes for a second, but then, get this, kisses me back.

When we finally break for air, we're both flushed and breathing a little harder than usual.

"Wow." Max finally says.

"Yeah." I say ever so wittingly. "You looked beautiful out there... I mean, you still do look beautiful, but you looked especially beautiful out there, on stage, and -" I don't get any farther than that because Max stands on the tips of her toes and brings my lips down to meet hers. This time I'm the one who's frozen in surprise.

"Were you trying to ask me something?" Max asks playfully. Her arms are still around my neck and my hands on her waist.

"Uh... did you want me to ask you something?" I reply nervously.

"Just spit it out Sam, what were you going to say?" I know she's not really annoyed because a slight smile is playing on her lips.

"Did you want to go out for dinner and a movie on Sunday night?" It couldn't be sooner, we had two shows tomorrow but only one matinee on Sunday, the following day.

"Sure." She says beaming at me. "I thought you'd never ask." That's when I lean down to kiss her again.

**OOOOOHHHHH! Max and Sam! AH! Aren't you excited? We are - this will make for a few very interesting upcoming chapters - don't you think? Fabulous! By the way, NarutoLover7890 wants to ask this "**_**How old do you think we are? Just curious... Of course, we won't give out our actual ages for the sake of living peacefully, but we were wondering what you guys thought while reading...**_**" So feel free to leave a comment! Thanks for reading guys! Now the fun's just getting started!**

**Fly on!**

**Mx2Blue326 and NarutoLover7890**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone!**

**Mx2Blue326 here, I'm glad you liked the last chapter... And yes... we are over 10 years old. Thank you very much! :) No, we love you guys! Thank you so much for reading our chapter and for the new reviews - We're so glad that you liked that last chapter! Yes, a lot of new things happened - but don't go away yet - there's lots more where that came from!**

****Hoped you guys all loved ANGEL! It was different, but pretty good. :) Can't wait to see what happens next!**

**Disclaimer****: **

***Knock knock!**

"**Who's there?"**

"**James Patterson."**

"**James Patterson, who?"**

"**The guy who actually came up with these characters and wrote the series."**

**You mean not the two people here writing a FanFiction for their own pleasure? *GASP**

**Yes, well. You get the picture.**

**Chapter 12**

**Max's POV**

"Great job, Max!"

"You we're amazing!"

"We love you!"

"You looked gorgeous!"

I smile at all of the cast that are surrounding me on the stage. I'm still holding onto Sam's hand.

"Thanks, but, none of this would be possible without you guys. So, thank _you_! You guys were amazing!" Then slyly releasing Sam's hand (I don't want everyone to know that we're going out!), I give them a round of applause. Shooting Sam and apologetic look I turn to face the growing crowd. Hugs are exchanged, roses are thrust into my arms, and I have an entourage following me all the way to my dressing room door. They are all so supportive and kind, but seriously, it's getting kind of old.

"Okay, this is the dressing room... Kinda gotta go in here myself!" I say with forced cheerfulness. And slowly shut the door hoping I'm not hurting anyone's fingers. Sheesh! You would think I brought the whole cast of Twilight down with me. (Sorry, just that I think everyone knows them - you know.)

With a sigh I sink down into a chair. Finally alone at last. I'm just about to reach up and unpin my hair (which is giving me a massive pin-ache) when I hear a soft knock at the door.

"Come in!" I say with a sigh. I continue with my hair. No matter who it is, I'm still getting these darned pins out of my head. In the mirror I see a petite silhouette. Then as she stepped into the light, a shock of red hair.

"Hey." Lissa says with a small smile.

"Hi." I reply. I've paused in my confusion.

"Want some help with that?" She gestures to my hair. I finally realize she's already in her street clothes. Lucky her.

"Ummm... sure thanks." I let my arms fall into my lap as she comes up behind me. Her small fingers probe though my hair gently pulling the pins out of my curls.

"No problem." She works for a few minutes in silence before she speaks again.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here." She begins.

"Yeah..." I trial off.

"I wanted to talk to you about..." Her hands stumble in their methodical work, then resume again. "About Fang." She gets out.

"Oh." I'm frozen. What does she want from me?

"I know, I know, you don't really know me all that well. But you do know Fang." She says with a sigh of her own.

"Ummm... you're his girlfriend, aren't you? Shouldn't you know him too?" I say with confusion.

"Erm... yes, I should. But that's just the problem." She explains. "I don't think I do. I mean, I should... but I don't think I do." She looks down at my hair sadly. All the pins are finally out. There's probably 100 of them in a pile on the dresser, no joke.

"It's Fang we're talking about here. He's not exactly the most open person." I say with a small smile.

"I know, oh, I know." She replies. Then get this, breaks out into tears. Oh, fabulous. Can I not get one moment of peace? After making a pained expression in the mirror at myself, I grab the tissue box and hold one out to her.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry!" She blubbers. "I-It's ju-ust that h-he do-oesn't lo-ove," (at least I think that's what she said, she couldn't quite make out that word,) "anymore." Wow... that was... just, quite disturbing. But I guess it's my job to fix her up and reassure her that her relationship is just going through a rough bit, but it's gonna be fine in the end. All that good, mushy, emotional, GIRLY, stuff that I'm just great at! NOT!

"Lissa..." I begin. That's safe, right? "I'm sure it's just all this stress! I mean, we had so many hard rehearsals before this, and tonight's opening night... You're probably exhausted!" Not to mention that I am too, and have to do two more shows tomorrow, but no worries, right? Because I'm a freakin' ANGEL!

"No-o!" She wails as her breath hitches up and down.

"What do you mean?" I sigh. Lissa takes a few deep breaths, wipes the last few tears away from her cheeks and is finally able to keep her voice somewhat steady.

"He doesn't look at me the way he used to. Not that it's even close to the way he looks at -" She's broken, I can see that. Sad and torn up about everything. But I couldn't even understand that last bit.

"What was that?"

"I said that it's not even close to the way he looks at you."

"Oh." (Crap.) Well... I didn't say it... but boy, was I thinking it.

"Excuse me? We're just friends." I clarify, especially since I just made out with Sam and agreed to go on a date with him!

"Yeah, I know, but he looks at you like someone he can trust with all his secrets. You guys have this weird connection, I don't mean romantically, but you guys are real tight. I can tell, by the way whenever he has something he wants to share, he'll look at you first, no matter who's in the room." OK. That was deep... and insanely accurate. I guess it was the same with me. We went to each other with our problems, jokes, and secrets first, before anyone else.

We were best friends as well as like, well, brother and sister. Seriously. There was nothing romantic between us. _Uh... you just kissed him and liked it! A LOT! _An ever so helpful voice chimed in my ear. Whatever, I was caught up in the moment. It doesn't count. Just because he was like my brother didn't mean he really was my brother! EW! Nor, does it change the fact that he's a seriously good kisser... okay ADHD moment, moving on - so NOT helpful right now Max!

"Why don't you talk to him about it?" I suggest. Instead of talking about it to me, because now I feel sooo awkward thinking about the kiss that may or have may not meant anything. Crud.

"I don't know, Max. It's not that easy you know!"

"Uh-huh." I reply, rolling my eyes. "Better to get it over with. You don't just want to let this hang. Strike while the metal is hot."

"You mean while I still have a chance to salvage the situation?" She challenges me.

"No, no, I wasn't thinking that. Just didn't some old important guy say 'Don't put off till tomorrow, what can be done today'. Right, something like that?" I receive a blank stare in response. "No? Okay, whatever. Just talk to Fang about it." I say with a sigh. "You're a beautiful, strong, and independent woman," I heard that somewhere in a movie before, it seemed appropriate, "and you can go up to Fang and demand what his problem is!" I stare her in the eye. "Understood?" All I get for my efforts is,

"You mean Benjamin Franklin?" Sigh... all she got out of my speech was "old dude" and "quote I don't quite remember" - GREAAAAT. I guess I can cross psychologist off my future careers list...

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

"Fang!" I hear a voice behind me and turn around to see Max running towards me. Her curls are out of its twist and are flying around her face. She got most of the makeup off her face, but not all of it. It looked... I guess you would say, more natural? But the slight eyeliner (I know this because of Nudge, okay?) just enhanced her natural beauty.

"Hey! There's our little star." I say with a grin. She sides up to me and I put an right arm lightly around her shoulders. She reaches her right hand up to hold mine. It takes me a second to realize that the fabric around Max's shoulders wasn't a cotton t-shirt. She was wearing a simple black, but striking top. It had long flowing sleeves but with slits so you could see her pale skin peeking through. The neckline gathered just below the graceful line of her collar bone. She looked... like a girl. **(A/N: "There's a reason for that!") **_Where did all that come from?_ I reprimand myself. _Striking top? Peeking? Neckline gathered? GRACEFUL LINE? Fang, you're turning into an idiot!_

When we reach the stairs to go up to the floor (the dressing rooms were in the basement) we ran into Sam on the stairs.

"Hey guys! That was awesome!" He says enthusiastically.

"I know right?" Max said with a grin.

"It was pretty cool." I allow with an amused expression on my face.

"Max made all the difference." Sam said shooting a look at Max. What? I mean I had to agree but... why was he looking at her so... intimately. Max met his gaze and... I can't believe it, but actually blushed. I slyly try to disentangle myself from her and place my arm by my side. There would have been awkward silence, had light footsteps not came up the stairs behind us. We turn to see Lissa mounting the stairs.

"Hey guys!" She says happily coming up to us.

"Hey Lissa!" Sam says with a smile. He's oblivious.

"Hi." Max says shooting her a pointed look. What was that about? Well, I guess it's my turn.

"Yo." My girlfriend gives me a strange look before turning back to Max and Sam.

"You all did amazing!" She gushed. "I already got to talk to Max but I haven't been able to congratulate you guys yet!" She goes up to Sam and gives him a big hug. Even though it probably should, it doesn't really bother me. I'm still trying to process Sam and Max's strange behavior. What was going on?

"Thanks Lissa." Sam replied. Hugging her back. Then she comes up to me and wraps her arms around my waist. I give her a brief hug in return. When we break apart Lissa shoots Max another look. Max angles her chin ever so slightly to me then grabs Sam's hand.

"Let's go upstairs. I have to meet with my parents and Ari. We'll meet you guys up there after, 'kay?" She starts up the stairs dragging a confused but happy Sam after her. What was that all about? When Lissa puts a light hand on my arm I'm forced to look back at her. She looks straight into my eyes as if she's searching for something. When she turns away I know she hadn't found it.

*ooOoo*

**Sam's POV**

As Max pulled me through the milling crowd I leaned down and to whisper in her ear.

"Were we interrupting something down there? You dragged us... well... me out of there really fast. Is there anything wrong?" She tensed then slowly relaxed a little. At least her steps slowed.

"Umm... nothing really... just some girl trouble." She says awkwardly.

"Ah." I know better than to pry. Cries of "MAX!" grab our attention and we turn to see what I guess as Max's family coming toward us. A little boy came running up and hugged Max around her waist. He couldn't have been more than six years old. He peeked shyly up at me. I smiled at him and he hid his face in Max's leg.

"Hey Ari! Did you like the show? I got your rose, I love it. Thank you!" Max gushes. She's kneeled so that she was looking Ari in the eye.

"You looked really pretty." He said with a smile.

"Oh really?" Max asks with a grin.

"Uh-huh." Max swept him up in a hug.

"You did an amazing job Max." Max's father came around and gave her a one armed hug.

"Yes, I had no idea you were so talented." Max's mom was really pretty, she had aristocratic features, short blond hair, and big blue eyes. She gave Max a hug as well. Seeing them side by side made me see that Max didn't look like her. Ari did though, they must be half-siblings.

"Thanks. Umm... Dad, Anne, Ari," So I was right... Anne, was Max's step-mother, "this is Sam. He played Raoul." Max explained gesturing to me.

"Sam, this is my dad, Jeb, my step-mother, Anne, and my younger brother, Ari." She pointed to each in turn. Yep... that cleared that up.

"Oh, it's so nice to meet you!" Anne steps forward to shake my hand and a warm smile. "You did a fantastic job!"

"Thanks!" I don't know what to call her... so. I guess that's safe.

"Yes. You did a great job." Jeb says with a smile.

"Thank you, sir." I respond. He has that authoritative air about him.

"Oh, no need for formalities, you can just call me Jeb." He says with a wink. Max is just staring at him in astonishment. 'Seriously?' is written all over her face. I wonder why.

"Okay... Jeb." I say with a small laugh. He joins in with me. Then Ari's adorable voice comes up.

"You were the other boy Max kissed, right? " His face is twisted into a quizzical expression. Well... I've got nothing to say to that. I don't think that anyone else is piping up with an answer either. Anne and Jeb are holding back laughter and exchanging side glances. All of the color in Max's face disappears. Her eyes are as big as saucers.

"That's okay." Ari pipes up again. "You seem to be alright." Gotta honor that, man. Her little brother approves of me. For some reason that makes me feel really good. I can tell that Max values his opinion. "Just like Fang." Okay... now the color returns to Max's face, full on, while I stand there awkwardly. Then I remind myself, they're just friends, no big. I can breathe again and smile at Ari.

"Yeah, Fang is alright too. Thanks, man!" I give him a high five. I get a toothy grin back at me. He's so cute.

"I think it's time for us to go." Max says tersely. Jeb and Anne are still smiling at the three of us. I think just to be on the safe side I should tell Jeb about our date. It's better for all of us.

"Wait, Mr. - I mean, Jeb." I start off, wow, real smooth Sam. Now he's never going to let her go out with me, but I push on anyway. "I invited Max to go to dinner and a movie this weekend after our performances. I promise to have her home at a decent hour, but I just wanted to check and make sure this was okay with you." Phew, nothing seemed to bad about that. A small look of surprise flashes across his features. Anne looks impressed.

"Thank you, Sam. I appreciate you telling me about this. Since, someone, forgot to mention this little detail." He gives a pointed look at Max. Holding her hands up in defense she says, "Hey! He just asked me out tonight. I was going to tell you at home."

"Oh, alright, but still, thank you for your concern and respect. I can see Max has chosen well." I feel myself flush a little.

"Thank you." I reply and feel Max grab my hand.

"See you later guys! I'll meet you at home alright? I gotta double check costumes, shoes, and my props. I also gotta say some last minute 'Congrats!'. Sam can drive me home." She looks at me for clarification. I nod my assent. I hope her father doesn't think I'm a reckless driver or whatever.

Jeb and Anne smiled at us and said their goodbyes. We were just about to leave when Ari piped up again.

"But Daddy! I don't wanna leave Max!" Ari cried out. I felt bad for the poor guy, with me stealing his sister and all, and leaned down to meet his eyes.

"If it's alright with your parents, how would you like to go behind the scenes of the show you just saw and meet the rest of the cast?" Ari's eyes lit up with excitement and he started jumping all around. He turned his eyes towards Anne and Jeb.

"Please? Pleeaaaase can I go Daddy? Mommy, Please?" He begged. They seemed a little hesitant at first, but then Jeb finally said,

"Oh, let the boy go! It's not a school night and I'm sure Max is responsible enough to handle him for an hour or so." He winked at Max. Max looked confused for a minute but then her face broke into a small smile. I guess she doesn't get too many compliments like that from her father.

"Yay! Thanks Mommy, thanks Daddy! I love you!" He ran into their arms, gave them each a kiss on the cheek then ran back to us. He waves until they're out of sight then turns back toward us.

"Ready to go?" I ask Ari, offering him my hand. Max does the same so he ends up holding both of our hands, right in the middle.

"Yep!" He replies happily, and we make our way through the throngs of people and back into the auditorium. We give Ari the full tour and everyone who meets him immediately falls under his spell. What can I say? Max's little brother's an angel.

"Where's Fang?" Ari asks suddenly.

"He's probably with his girlfriend, Lissa. Do you know her?" He shakes his head.

"No. Not really."

"Okay, well we'll go find them and we have to introduce you to her. Sound good?" He nods and we go down to Fang's dressing room. I hope whatever was odd before has finally been fixed... that was such an awkward conversation on the stairwell. Max seems hesitant as well, but gathers up her courage and knocks on Fang's door.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV (ZOMG! You were so totally right - sorry about that! ~ Axe09!)**

"Just a minute." Comes Fang's voice from behind it. A few seconds later the door opens and we see a frazzled looking Fang staring back at us. "Yo." Is his oh-so-friendly greeting. Ari doesn't seem to mind and runs right to him. He wraps his small arms around Fang's leg and gives him a big hug. Fang smiles down at him and lifts him easily into his arms.

"Hey little guy!" Fang exclaims a genuine smile on his face. He looks back to normal now.

"Hi Fang!" Ari throws his arms around Fang's neck. For the millionth time, so adorable! Fang sets Ari down and he runs into the dressing room pulling his cape off the back of his chair. While he's playing with it we talk with Fang.

"How's it going?" I ask him cautiously. I hope Lissa had been able to sort out her differences with him. By the look on his face earlier I don't know what to make of it.

"Errr... fine." He mumbles. Okay, that's the end of that subject. We end up talking a little while then decide to head home. Ari looks beat.

"Ready to go buddy?" I ask. He nods lifting his arms up to me. I lift him up and he curls up to my neck. With Fang and Sam following me, we head out the door.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

Just seeing Max handling Ari so gently it makes me realize she's going to make a really good mother someday. Not in a weird way, but you can see the affection for her younger sibling, and he obviously adores her. Just the way he's curled into her neck. Then I realize she's walking slower and her arms are drooping. That's my cue to come and be a gentleman. I come up beside her while Sam's finding his car keys.

"Here. Let me take him." I hope my arms out to her and she looks up at me gratefully. She lifts him into my arms and he folds himself into my shoulder. He isn't that heavy but Max is pretty slim and we've been walking up lots of flights of stairs. She deserved a break.

When we go outside a lot of the people congratulate us. Finally we make it to the front of the school. Sam's car is in the lot.

"Ready?" Sam asks Max. Huh? Ready for what? She nods but turns to look at me. Sam turns and follow suit.

"Would you like a ride home?" Sam asks me. Well... that was unexpected but certainly nice of him.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm gonna walk Max and Ari home." I reply.

"Fang, Ari and I are already catching a ride with Sam." Max explains.

"Oh. Okay then... in that case. Thanks." I say coming towards them still with Ari in my arms. I climb in the backseat with him and let Ari use my lap as a pillow. Sam gets into the driver's seat, Max gets in the passenger seat. The silence is awkward until I see Sam holding Max's hand in the front seat. What is that all about?

"You guys got something to tell me?" I say jokingly. But my head is reeling. Why is Max holding Sam's hand?

"Wh-what?" Max stutters, immediately taking her hand out of Sam's. Even in the dark I know her cheeks are flaming.

"You guys together or something?" That came out a little harsher than I intended. That got Max in a tizzy. Nothing gets her riled up more than when someone, namely me, starts judging or targeting her.

"Well... Yes, Fang. Sam asked me to go to dinner and a movie with him this weekend." There's an edge to her voice. I know her eyes are narrowed into slits and if she'd been looking at me, I would've been quaking.

"Cool." Is the only thing I can think of to reply. I don't want to piss her off even more. Besides she can date whoever she wants. I don't care. And Sam's cool. Doesn't bother me. In fact this almost turns kind of ridiculous. I start laughing to myself.

"Is something funny?" Max asks casually. Only I can tell she's madder than mad.

"Nope. Not at all." I say smiling at her in the dark. Sam finally senses something might be up and breaks in. Not to mention, with something even that astounded me.

"Want to double with us, Fang?" Sam asks.

"Double."

"Yeah. With Lissa. We could all go to dinner then the movies, it will be fun." He says enthusiastically. Max was so going to kill me for this.

"Sure. Thanks!" I smile even wider.

"Cool. That's alright with you, Max?" He turns to her.

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" She smiles sweetly at him then turns to seethe at me. Awesome. This will be fun.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Fang is the single most annoying freak I've ever met! He's so obnoxious. Now he's trying to crash my date with Sam. Well... ain't he kind.

It's the next day and we're getting ready for another show. I haven't seen him yet, but I better quit thinking like this. As Mrs. Leekly keeps reminding us, we can't bring our real selves onto the stage. We must leave all other problems behind us in the curtain. Nothing can faze us. The makeup artist finishes the last bit of my new face and then pins up my hair. I'm ready. I'm on my way to my dressing room to get into costume, when I run into Lissa.

"Hey Max!" She calls out to me.

"Oh... hey Lissa." I reply. I'm not really in the mood...

"So. I took your advice and talked to Fang about our relationship," She began. I nod in response. "And he seemed to really take it to heart. He even said that we were going on a double with you and Sam? I'm _so_ excited! When did that happen?" Great. So now she sounds like Nudge.

"Ummm... recently. That's great, Lissa!" I work to make my voice sound enthusiastic. All of a sudden I just felt exhausted. "Sorry to cut this short, but I really gotta get into costume. I'll see you later, okay?" She's too happy to notice that I sounded kind of rude and just happily sent me on my way. Thank God, I don't have to worry about her right now. I know that sounds mean, but sorry, they don't call me Max for nothing! I do feel as though I've been to soft on people. Back in LA it was so easy to be mean, snarky, annoying, Max with a side of bad attitude but here, it's been hard to keep my streak up. Now that my best friend is being such a dumbo and his girlfriend keeps bothering me with her relationship problems, as if I can actually help her, it's getting me in the perfect mood to be myself again!

I finish changing and get ready for the spotlight. Rabid Max will have to wait, just until I'm done with this show, that is.

*ooOoo*

**Nudge's POV**

After school on Friday, I painted my nails neon pink to match my new converse. I was going to wear them the next day so it was a fashion emergency! Anyway, I was painting my nails, minding my own business, until I hear Fang's voice on the phone. Our rooms are right next to each other, so it totally makes sense that I would spy on him, doesn't it?

YES, of course it does! Okay, so, I quickly put my ear to the wall so I could hear him. He sounded really enthusiastic about something... he's like, never this excited about anything so I strain to listen harder.

"... so we're meeting at the movie. We're gonna double."

Pause while the person on the other end of the line answered. Iggy, possibly?

"Who would'a thought? It's Max!" THAT got my attention. Max was going on a date? Immediately 10 different outfit ideas were running through my head. Hair up, no down? Casual? Black and jeans - classic? Or red - that would be more daring...

"Yeah, I'll tell you 'bout it later." I heard Fang say.

"Who's she going with? Oh, you know Sam? Yeah, _him_." He said. Sam? Even more interesting. He's such a nice guy. Good-looking too! They make such a cute couple.

Bringing my ear away from the wall I bring one of my perfectly polished nails to the side of my chin. By the sound of Fang, he seemed not to like Sam too much... ZOMG! What if Fang secretly loved Max and he was going to fight Sam for her, oh how romantic! I immediately grab my bedazzled cellphone and proceed to text Max, being careful not to mess up my paint job.

**Let's do sumthin - girlz only. Havn't seen u in, lyk 4eva! Movie ur place, 2moro, mid-mornin'? 3, N**

A second later my sidekick binged with a text.

**K. Sounds gud. C u 10. - M**

I sit back, a sly grin on my face. Perfect!

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

"No!" I literally shout at Nudge's face. Turns out our girl's bonding time ended up with me being dragged to the mall by an ever persistent Nudge. I didn't realize what she wanted to do until we were already in the clothes department.

"Come on, Max! Don't you want to look good on your date with SAAAAM?" Nudge's voice sings my date's name. Greaaat.

"How do you know it was Sam?" I ask her sharply.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." She says flashing me her toothiest grin.

"Oh. Faaannnggg..." His name came out like a curse. He is a dead man. I know my eyes look murderous. Too bad it doesn't work on Nudge.

"Don't be such a baby. He didn't tell me anything - I spied on him!" She said happily. That creepy, deceitful, little creature! I think I just sort of growled. "Hush! Now back to the matter on hand - go into that dressing room and try that on!" She says tapping her heeled foot expectantly.

"It's too fitted. I prefer hoodies and t-shirts thank you very much."

"Oh, dear. You are a fashion emergency, Max!" She says with her hands to her face in dispair. Oh, the poor darling. Thank God for sarcasm!

"No. I'm just normal. Unlike, SOME people."

"Just try it on." She whines.

"How's about, no?" I say with a snarky smile. That's me! I'm the queen of stubbornness.

"You. Will. Try. That. On. Because. I. Said. So. Whether. You. Like. It. Or. Not. Do I make myself clear?" Nudge said slowly, carefully, and deadly. For some reason, I seriously believed her. She would hurt me if I didn't try the dang thing on.

"Okay, okay! Fine. You're really a very scary little girl, you know that?" I tell her.

"I know!" She gives me a grin - all nice and innocent again. I go into the dressing room and come out without looking in the mirror.

"Ohmygosh! You look amazing!" Are the first words out of Nudge's mouth.

"Heh, yeah right." I reply, rolling my eyes. "I look ridiculous."

"Max, did you even look at yourself?" Nudge asks, her eyes wide.

"Uh, no."

"Well, I'm not taking a 'No' for an answer, you're getting that." Nudge stated.

"Yeaaahhhh..." I roll my eyes.

"Don't 'Yeahhhhh' me! We got a lot more where this came from! It's not only your date I'm dealing with, it's your entire wardrobe!" She smiled. "To tell you the truth. I planted a fresh red sock in his set of white laundry. All of his white boxers, t-shirts, and tank tops are all a gorgeous, permanent PINK! I told him it was you... so I think when you get home you'll find something very interesting waiting for you in your closet. Don't worry, I took out a few things that I though were acceptable and some things I know you wouldn't be able to part with before he got a hold on your closet." I just stood there, horrified, speechless, and in slight respect. This girl was good.

"You... y... you..." I'm not even able to form a whole sentence.

"Yeah, you'll thank me later. Let's go!" Nudge exclaimed dragged me to the torture chamber- Ah, I mean dressing room, again.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

I think she was attacking my hair with those scissors. It was going 'snip, snip, snip' in the bathroom, AKA, Torture Chamber #2.

"I still have some more Phantoms shows." I say nervously. 'Snip, snip, snip.' "They don't have a wig for me!" I hinted.'Snip, snip, snip.' A few minutes later, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yes, Max. Stop worrying, it'll give you premature wrinkles." Was all I got. Ain't she sweet? I nervously bring my hand up to my hair to see if I still have any left, but my hand gets slapped down by Nudge. "When I'm done, then you may look. Be patient." I make a big deal of sighing for her.

When I have been reduced to twiddling my thumbs she finally sets down the scissors with a loud clang.

"May I look?" I ask sarcastically.

"No." Was her simple reply. Why that little...!

"Why NOT?" I demanded.

"Because I haven't done your make-up yet."

"Wait! Hold it! Makeup? No. That is where I draw the line! NO MAKEUP!" I scream at her.

"Max, I promise if you don't like it you can wash it off before I let you out of here. No one else has to see it. Please? Let me have my fun. I know what I'm doing." She replies in a calm voice. When I still say no she comes around and gets me with the dreaded, well you guessed it - _bambi eyes_. Now I have no choice but to say yes. I grit my teeth at her while I hear her lining up her tools of torture. Okay, fine. 'Cosmetic brushes'. Hate the words.

"Close your eyes Max, it will be over before you know it. I promise." I do as she asks, I am pretty tired. As soon as she starts brushing my face, I'm wide awake. I giggle.

"What's so funny?" Nudge asks absentmindedly.

"It tickles." She sighs, but I know her lips are in a smile. She's done with the tickly brush very quickly.

"Open your eyes." Nudge says. "Look up." I do as she says and she quickly applies the eyeliner.

"Please don't poke my eyes out, I need those." I remind her.

"Max, how in the world did they put makeup on you for the show?" She asks me.

"I don't know. It wasn't as close to my eyes or as slow as your doing it right now."

"Oh right, stage makeup. Bolder, more for long distance than appearance." She mutters to herself. As I close my eyes she finshes with the eyeliner and moves on to the mini-version of the first brush. This one is only over my eyelids. Lalalala... I'm totally calm when all of a sudden I feel a sharp YANK.

"OW!" My eyes fly open and I glare at the perpetrator. "What are you doing?" I exclaim.

"Shaping. Close your eyes and stop fussing." She reprimands me. I obey but my lips are in a tight line. I mutter under my breath.

"Max, you are a girl who can throw a right hook into a guys face like no one's business but you can't even handle shaping your eyebrows! Ohmygosh! You're impossible!" She finishes as quickly as possible, her annoyance showing through her quick, sharp, and sore strokes of the tweezers. Finally, she stops.

"Are you done YET?" I ask her through my gritted teeth.

"Almost." Is her faint reply.

"Hurry up! I want to wash this off already!" I say, mostly because I'm cranky and annoyed, it actually didn't feel like anything was on my face at all.

"Hold still, Max. It will make it easier." She swipes something sweet, moist, and oddly refreshing onto my lips. "Open." She says. I open my eyes. "Not your eyes, Max. Your lips." She says with sigh.

"Oh." I open my lips and close my eyes again. She adds some her, wipes some there and caps whatever it is she's holding.

"Now open your eyes." I do and she runs her fingers through my hair. Sweeps a brush along my cheeks. Adjusts a few things on my face here and there then announces me "Perfect". "Close your eyes again." She tells me. I do and then she turns my swively chair around. She actually has one of these salon makeup chairs, it was my favorite part of the makeover, I was playing with it.

"OK, Max. Open." This time I know she means my eyes but I open my mouth to spite her. She slaps me on the back of the head. "Haha, your hilarious. Open your dang eyes!" She snaps. With a smile on my lips I open my eyes. When I see the reflection in the mirror, I gasp.

**And that's where this will end! Dun, dun, dun! Cliff hanger... what happened to Max. Did Nudge completely ruin her face - good guess! :) But, you'll just have to wait and seeeee!**

****Okay, here's the deal. We have trouble trying to fit co-writing this story in with our personal lives and such, so we have two propositions...**

_**1) Keep the long chapters - but, wait weeks until a new chapter is posted.**_

**OR...**

_**2) Shorten the chapters but, hopefully (most likely), have them coming more frequently.**_

**This is one time that we will ask for your opinions (aka - comments)... if not... then we'll just update when we can and stick to our long chapters. But please comment with your preference if you have one. I know, personally, when I read a story the long chapters are awesome but they come like once a month and I'm left hanging (sometimes lose interest), but the short one pagers are a little too short. So by "shorter" we mean a happy medium. Okay? Thanks a bunch! We love you guys!**

**Fly on!**

**Mx2Blue326 and NarutoLover7890**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, Everyone!**

**Ready to start LUCKY Chapter 13? Oh, yeah! Okay so our last chapter was kind of a filler. We were really busy for those few last weeks and it was crazy (not to mention that we still are)! AH! **

**Also I know it's been like half a year (literally) since we've updating so sorry about that! But without further a due... Chapter 13!**

**Disclaimer**

**Our creative juices stopped after the 'disclaimer' last chapter. Let's just say the guy who wrote the one and only Maximum Ride series never did - you know who you are. Give it up for James Patterson! Oh yeah! NOW we can start!**

**[LUCKY] Chapter 13:**

**Max's POV**

_**Flashback...**_

"_OK, Max. Open." This time I know she means my eyes but I open my mouth to spite her. She slaps me on the back of the head. "Haha, your hilarious. Open your dang eyes!" She snaps. With a smile on my lips I open my eyes. When I see the reflection in the mirror, I gasp._

_**Present...**_

That girl in the mirror is me, but it's not me. My hair is actually cut, in an actual style. She kept it long, thank God, but there were long layers throughout it. My natural highlights weaved through the layers perfectly playing the lights. I wore barely any makeup, but what was on, made me look... okay not to be vain or anything... but it made me look...

"Beautiful," Nudge supplied. "Beautiful is what you were going for." For once, in my Maximum Ride action packed life, I was stunned to silence.

"What?" I whisper. My hand reaching up to touch my face. The teenager in the mirror, well, mirrored me. I had light gold and brown eyeshadow on my eyelids. A thin but neat line of eyeliner and a light application of mascara. I think I might have had some kind of powdered foundation on my face (when she was tickling me with the brush), but it's so light, I don't notice it. My lips are naturally 'pink', or so Nudge told me, so she added a thin clear gloss over it to make it shine. It didn't bother me at all. I could picture myself wearing this for my date with Sam. It's awesome!

"Thanks Nudge!" I exclaim, after she showed me how to do my makeup myself. It was easy and I could actually do it! (Yes, I could do it. Nudge made me do it myself - with lots of critiquing, I might add.) I start to walk out of the bathroom but Nudge pulls me back.

"Ahem, and where do you think you're going?" She asks me.

"Umm... aren't we done?" I ask, confused.

"Your wardrobe is still waiting for you!" She exclaims.

"Oh. Seriously?" I can already feel my arms and legs aching from pulling tops off and on and squeezing into skin tight jeans she forced me to try on. I think I saw them sticking out under the mound of clothes when we went to the checkout.

Once we get to the door of my room, Nudge ties her scarf around my eyes so I couldn't see my new errrr... wardrobe.

"Are you ready?" Nudge asks. I can hear soft rhythmic footfalls on the hard wood floor. She must be jumping up and down. Greeeaaat...

"Uh... I guess." I reply. I hear a big sigh and the double doors to my closet opening. By the way, I didn't ask for a walk in closet! It was already here when I moved in! It was the only sensible place to put my closet and I didn't want to deal with remodeling or making a new one. It's been pretty bare, but I guess... now it isn't.

Nudge guides me by my shoulders to where I'm supposed to stand for the big surprise.

"You can take off the blindfold now." Nudge says. I take it off and am surrounded by clothes. Erm... when exactly did I buy all of this? I swear the pile in the store only reached to the top of the cash register - not enough to fill in my ENTIRE walk in closet!

"Nudge. Where did you get all of these clothes?" Hidden along those lines is where did you get the money to pay for all of this stuff. I mean, I know both Jeb and her parents are very wealthy. Money isn't an issue. But I know almost all of this stuff is brand new! How could she have taken, oh, a couple thousand dollars out from their noses?

"I talked to Anne about your makeover. She totally supported me and immediately handed me her VISA. You know how they both have joint accounts? So she told me you never ask her for anything. Or Jeb really either when it comes to clothes, so they agreed to let me take you on a shopping spree. They were happy you were finally finding interest in your own style!" She explained. My own style? Oh, jeesh!

"Great." I reply enthusiastically. (Nooooo!)

"How did she put it... 'No more of those darned sweatshirts, baggy jeans, and t-shirts'?" Nudge said innocently. Gah! So what if I did or not? It was none of her business!

"Whatever." I reply rolling my eyes. With my hands on my hips I ask, "So what exactly are we here for? You got me tons of new clothes. That I will NEVER wear. So what's the point?"

"Oh yes you will!" She sings. "If not, you will be going to school in your underwear. By the way, I took the liberty of going to Victoria Secret and getting you new undergarments too!" She chirped.

"Victoria Secret." It comes out at a curse.

"Yes, Max. Underwear is a necessity!" I blush madly in response. Then I take a deep breath. I'm totally zen. NO problems at all.

"Okay. So I pick a shirt and pants and wear them. What else do you need to show me?" I ask her. She gasps. Great what have I done now?

"Just pick a shirt and pants? Is that all you think of fashion and your new closet?" She looked ready to either slap me or burst into tears. Crud.

"No. Nudge, it's not like that. Thank you - really. I love them, I can totally see me wearing them. And I promise to keep an open mind and to try and make things match. Really, I'll try. Thank you for putting all this effort into me!" As I say this and I gesture to closet, the funny thing is I really take a look at all the clothes and realize I mean every word. Have I ever felt kinda jealous of all those girls that put together such "fabulous" outfits that they looked like they were walking down a fashion show runway when they were only walking down the school hallway? No, not really. But have I ever felt like a grungy street bum standing next to them? Yes, yes I have. T-shirts and jeans are comfortable territory for me. If they made clothes that were considered more "fashionable" but just as comfortable then sure I would wear it. But I don't have time in the morning to spend half an hour getting dressed and doing my makeup. But right now, looking at my closet, I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe I can do this. I guess Nudge realizes the change in my face and starts to jump up and down.

"Oh, Max! You'll look great in these! I promise that they are all comfortable and movable in! You'll really like them!" Her eyes are sparkling and her hands are clasped against her chest. My dear Nudge, what can ya do with her?

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

_Should I drink my water? He hasn't touched his water glass yet... but I don't think it would be awkward to drink water... WAIT! What if I end up having to pee? I'd leave him here alone and it'd just make it even more awkward when I come back and he's sitting by himself. _My incomprehensible thoughts were cleared when a short girl (or lady?) came to our table, notepad and pen in hand; her hair was ginger red (obviously dyed and straight permed), freckles on her cheeks, blue eyes, and she was incredibly skinny.

"Have you decided on anything yet?" she asked with a bright smile, which was also probably whitened a little _too_ much... Sam and I were already sitting there for about 15 minutes and I can tell you that it was already 14 minutes over time. The awkward silence ringing through my ears like a screeching microphone no matter how much the people sitting on the table next to us were ranting on about sending their kids to some high class rich school.

"Um, yeah, I'll just have the spaghetti and meatballs-no cheese. And can we get another order of garlic bread please?" I'm already on my second piece. My eyes give Sam the notion that it was his turn to go.

"Oh! Yeah, I'll have the, um, the Rigattoni Arrabiatta." Our waitress walked away and we were left their in silence for another few minutes. Sooner or later, I'd have to break the silence, right?

"So, um, are you excited for the closing night?" I asked a little too overjoyed.

"Yeah! Totally, I bet it'll be the one we'll remember for a really, really long time." The sparkle in his eyes made me forget what I was going to say next, but luckily I was interrupted by a vibration in my back pocket.

I smiled weirdly at Sam with what I hope was showing him my "sorry" expression; I felt into my pocket, took out my phone and looked at the new text I got- _Movie's 7:30, right? Lissa and I have been kinda arguing bout what time it was and stuff..._- and smirked a little. It was so like Fang to forget what time it would start. But then I remembered that I was supposed to be mad at him. Frowning I deliberated on how much trouble I would get in if I told him the wrong time (my little fantasies were wonderful). But sighing, I quickly text him back, _No! 7:15! Don't you dare forget!_

"Fang?" Sam asked, I couldn't completely place what his voice sounded like- jealousy, or was it hurt?

"Oh, yeah. He just forgot what time the movie's at." I said sheepishly, trying not to sound too thankful that Fang's text gave me something to actually do during the most awkward night of my life- he's my savior and I'll be sure to tell him that with my last breath I take in this world - wait I take that back I'm MAD at him... sigh, this isn't going well. But then my thoughts moved from my dying moment to the smell of tomato sauce and meat - maybe this awkward night was worth it if the food (I'm praying) is tasty.

"Here you are!" the ginger-haired waitress said to us. I just smiled up at her (maybe it was more like down, though) with a _Thank God! Now I have something to stuff my face with so I don't have to talk to my date!_ look on my face. Then, the next half hour passed quickly as I was eating my spaghetti and we got up to go meet Fang and Lissa at the movies. I was never a huge fan of movie theaters, though. The smell of people and rotten food crowded the place, the music was always blaring in your ears, and when you laugh at something that no one else understands in the theater, they look at you with a "You retard..." look on their face, and you slouch even more into the seats that have probably never been cleaned- not that I really care about cleanliness of _everything_, but _come one,_ public movie theater seats? Not many things can compare other than public toilets...

"Max! Sam!" I heard Lissa call our names as I spun around to her with Fang a few feet behind her. Sam and I had the four tickets, standing outside of the entrance to the movie theaters. "Wow, Max you look great." Sam nods in agreement, and Fang takes a double look.

"Uh, thanks. Nudge got to me." I'm wearing some of my new wardrobe tonight. Dark wash denim skinny jeans, a maroon turtleneck sweater, a really cool black vest, a long necklace and matching earrings, black leather boots that cover my calves, and I even tried a black "hobo" bag to throw all my crap in. My hair is in a french braid and my make-up the same as Nudge taught me. See I can learn? I start to blush feeling all their eyes on me. "Let's get going, the movies about to start." We ran in, found seats, got our drinks, and settled into the _nice, sweet smelling, clean, comfy public movie theater seats... Yeah right._

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

The movie was... interesting. But not interesting enough to keep my thoughts off of Lissa, who was trying to hold Fang's hand - unsuccessfully. Fang always finding a way to get out of it- needed more of his drink or popcorn, moving to a more "comfortable" position in his chair, or just that his arm was somehow aching. _What a genius_, I kept thinking with the most sarcastic inner voice I could make. It was more entertaining than the movie! It was so nice to see Fang squirm! Ha! Take _that _Lissa - Whoa, Max this is getting to your head! Anyway, as for Sam, he kept his arm "casually" face up, palm open for the ENTIRE movie. I kept my hands safely in my popcorn bag. I'm still trying to get into the "dating" mood. I mean - with Fang squiggling around like he's got a bad case of fire ants in his pants I'm not exactly feeling the romance, if ya know what I mean. But I guess in a way I'm thankful to him for that (Okay, already! I've decided to forgive him!), 1) Because I can go on this first date without having to worry about putting my sweaty, nervous, palm in his and 2) Because, well, watching Fang is just plain hilarious!

After the movie is over I seriously cannot tell you what it was about. There was some action, some drama, and some romance (duh) but I was too busy worrying about accidentally putting my hand on the armrest (submitting my hand to his eagerly awaiting one) or watching Fang and Lissa. Yes I've been more concentrated on them than Sam during this whole time but, seriously I hope nothing is wrong. Things were shaky on opening night and by the looks of things they are going know where but down. My inner cupid is interrupted by Sam.

"So, did you like the movie?" He asks me. Oh shit.

"Yeah. It was... interesting." I manage. He just smiles that cute half smile of his.

"Oh really, what was your favorite part?" Darn. I smile my sweetest smile at him,

"Okay, you got me. I'm sorry - I was distracted, I know I haven't been a very good date." I say regretfully. I had really hoped this would have gone a bit smoother, pleasanter, better... But I'm Maximum Ride, nothing ever goes the way I plan it.

"It's alright - we've got plenty of dates to make up for it." He replies, accepting my apology with good grace.

"Thanks. How's about I take you to Ben & Jerry's for an ice cream after closing night?" I suggest with a raise of my eyebrows.

"Sounds perfect." He gives me a wink and I beam back at him. He really is so sweet. I think he deserves something special since I've given him almost none of my attention tonight and reach out and grab his hand. And just like that, we're holding hands. **(A/N: Something from the originals were due...)** Sam seems surprised but happy, judging by the smile on his face. When we reach the car we turn to see Fang and Lissa a ways back. By their posture and expressions... well, let's just say you could create a second Antarctica in between them. Sam and I exchange glances but he says nothing. They walk up to us and we stand there for a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Umm... so the movie was pretty good, huh?" Sam tries to salvage the situation with small talk - LOVE HIM right now.

"Yeah." Lissa says quietly. She looks so dejected. Fang just nods his head in agreement.

"Well, this has been fun." I say, trying to sound enthusiastic... "We should do this again some other time! We'll see you tomorrow alright?" I say. I give Fang and Lissa a wave. Lissa responds with a small smile and little "Bye", Fang just avoids my gaze.

"Okay then, see you two." Sam says and we both get into his car. I turn the heater on high and we're off to my house. "Is everything okay between them?" He asks.

"Uhm... I don't know. Maybe." I reply. I really don't want to talk about this. "I'm sure it's fine - they'll figure it out." Sam nods and seems to recognize that I won't reveal anything more on the subject.

"So, did I do alright in the performance?" He asks. Yes, finally a safe conversation topic.

"Oh yeah... You did amazing." I replied. And I'm not over-exaggerating, he did.

"Thanks - so did you. I just thought I was pitchy on some of the songs." He explained.

"Oh, well you sounded fine to me." I was rewarded with a small chuckle.

As we pull up to my house he stops the car and walks me to the door.

"Well, thanks for the movie and dinner." I start.

"Nono, thanks for joining me. I had fun." He replied.

"Me too." I say looking up at his green eyes. Watching me closely he takes a step forward and puts his hands on my shoulders. Leaning down slightly he kisses me softly. My hands are resting on his chest and his arms move down to encircle my waist. When the porch light goes on we break away. We're both grinning stupidly.

"Night. I gotta go." I tell him.

"Yeah." He says still smiling. I lean up and give him one more kiss on the lips and then open the door and disappear inside. I lean against the door beaming happily - now _that_ went exactly according to plan.

*ooOoo*

**Sam's POV**

Tonight is closing night for _The Phantom of the Opera_. I'm sad to see it go but am going to treasure all the memories it has given me. Okay, okay. I know that this is not the type of thing a Junior in High School should be saying but too bad. I think it's all this love that in the air.

Yes, you heard me. _LOVE._ I am in _love_ with Max. She is awesome, everything all the girls at this school are not. She's funny, sarcastic, not to mention beautiful. She tries to hide it, but she can't. I don't even think she knows the impact she can have on people, guys especially. But that's another thing. She's so loyal and independent. I have no choice but to trust her - she's that kind of person. If there's something bothering her, she'll tell you straight out, and she won't try to downplay it, no matter how much it hurts. She's strong and I respect her for that.

I could keep going on and on about her all day, but the house lights just went off. _Show time._

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

The applause was deafening! The audience gave us a standing ovation. But, this really was our best performance yet. Everyone had finally gotten the hang of everything and there were no mistakes. It was a flawless performance. I'm on Max's right and Sam is on her left. We all come out for yet another round of bows. Sam steps forward first, as practiced, and executes a perfect, gentlemanly bow. The cheers are almost overwhelming. When Sam returns to us, Max is next. She gathers her skirts in her hands comes to the edge of the stage. With her right hand lifted to cross her chest and her left out to her side for balance, she sinks into a graceful curtsy. The crowd went wild! Hah! Wonder if they knew how long we had to practice that simple guesture at my house before she could do it without falling on her face... or her butt for that matter. I smile to myself. Then Max comes back to us and I know it's my turn. Being the "Phantom" and all, I get the last solo bow of the night.

I step out to the audience, and making the best of my black cape, I bow with a flourish. I smile, but I seriously think I'm going to go blind from all the flash photos and deaf from all the cheers. I'm flattered, really, but enough, is enough. The audience looks almost on the edge of insanity. Great.

My attention is brought back to our bows when Max, being led by Sam come to join me one final time at the front of the stage. We now make our traditional bows all together holding hands in a line. Sam and Max are beaming from ear to ear, I just have my customary smirk on my face. What? That's how I normally am... not to mention that it plays the Phantom's role perfectly. Don't be wrong, I'm gonna be sad to see him go.

We join our cast mates one last time. To my left is Lissa, fabulous. I hope I can get out of here early before she pounces on me! I like her, I really do, but I just want to go home now and sleep. It's already 11:00pm. After having two back-to-back performances today, I'm beat.

The curtain closes and there's a lot of hugging and tears. I try and hightail it out of there because we all know how good I deal with emotional anything. Lissa is busy hugging one of the dancers and Max is talking to Sam. Actually they're kissing. Lovely. I need to leave _right_ now. And, thanks to the distraction around me and my black cape and ensemble, I can.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Wow! What a night! Our last performance went awesomely - not to sound too full of ourselves. But it did! Everyone was faboulous.

As the curtain closes Sam takes me in his arms and gives me a soft kiss on the lips. I kiss him back absentmindedly but really I'm watching Fang do his little disappearing act into the wings. I'll check on him later, I decide when Sam deepens the kiss. When we break apart Fang is gone.

"Awesome show, huh?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, everyone did great." I replied with a quick smile. Around us people were hugging and crying and cheering. No wonder Fang wanted to get away, I did too. "I'm kind of tired, Sam," I started, "I'm gonna go to my dressing room and then go home. Don't wait up. Fang can drive me." I told him. There seemed to be a tightening in his eyes but it was gone so fast I probably had imagined it.

"Okay, you sure you don't want to come to the after-party?" He asks me.

"Oh, right, that." I sighed. "I'm not really a partyer. I'm sorry." I said.

"No no, it's fine. I'll take some pictures for you." He said with a kind smile. He leaned down and gave me another kiss. This one short and sweet. Whistles came from all around us. All of our cast mates thought it was so "romantic" how we played love-interests in the play and now were dating. Fabulous. "Feel better." He said and let me go.

"Thanks, Sam! I owe you one!" I replied hugging him.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you home - it's no trouble." He asked. I shook my head and then quickly making my way through the crowd to the wings.

I finally made it to Fang's dressing room. Everyone else, it seemed, had decided to start the celebration upstairs. As my family had prudently came opening night, thanks to Fang (ugh), they hadn't come tonight. Though I hate to admit Fang was right, it was a smart idea. Tonight it was a mad house.

I came to a stop outside his door and knocked.

"Fang? It's Max, can I come in?" I asked.

"Sure. It's unlocked." His reply slightly muffled by the door. I opened it and there he was, shirtless. Can this night get any better? I couldn't help it when my gaze flickered to his hard, muscular, flat, tan, stomach. I quickly forced my eyes to go to his face. "What's up? You alright. Heh, they really piled on the makeup tonight, huh?" He asked.

"What? Of course... they normally do." I say embarrassed. I really hated all of this stage makeup. Overdone so that the audience could see it from afar.

"Oh, because your cheeks are really really red." He replied with the raise of an eyebrow. Oh how I hated this. He was _Fang_, my best friend. Just another guy, another really hot guy with a six-pa- WHOA! _Slow down, Max! Do you even HEAR what you're saying?_ I really am turning into a stupid, well lack for better word, schoolgirl.

"Oh." I decided was safe. Clearing my throat self-consciously, I ask him if he's alright.

"Yeah, fine. Just wanted to get away from the crowds." He said tersely. I can tell he's not lying, but he's not telling me the whole truth either.

"Fang, it's me, Max. Your best friend. You can't hide anything from me. What is this all about?" I said in my no-nonsense tone of voice. He still gives me the silent treatment as he hangs up his costume. Thank God I found him in his normal black jeans and not the costume's dress pants. That would have been awkward. Knowing Fang, he would've kept changing not caring if I saw his underwear. And he pulled on a shirt, thankfully.

"It's about Lissa, isn't it?" I ask. I, as well as everyone else, have seen that things aren't going well for them.

"Yeah." He replies after a moment of silence. He must have been debating whether or not to spill his guts. And I guess he decided to spill. "I don't know, Max. She changed. I changed. We've been together since middle school... but I'm just not feeling it anymore." I'm quiet for a moment. Crap - I'm not good at this sort of thing. I walk over to him and sit down next to him. I take his hand in mine and squeeze. Since I'm afraid to say anything, we just sit there like that for a while.

"It'll be okay." I finally say. "I promise." His dark eyes glance over at me. I give him a (hopefully) reassuring smile.

"You're right." He cracks a small smile.

"Of course I am." I reply to him. "Now I'm gonna get changed and then let's get out of here?" I ask. He smiles and nods.

"I'll meet you outside your dressing room." He tells me.

"Sounds good." I wiggle my fingers in goodbye and leave. Just when I'm at the door Fang's voice stops me.

"Oh and Max," He starts. I stop and look at him questioningly. "You look really nice... tonight." He gets out. I blush and look down at the maroon carpet.

"Umm, thanks." I get out and hightail it out of there.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

"Of course I am." Max says with a smile. Gosh does she look beautiful. _YO FANG! What are you doing, man?_ My conscience reprimands me. But she does, her shoulders are bare and her dress actually shows what her bulky t-shirts hide. She's got a figure, a really nice one at that. And her hair looks good curled. After all our bows a few curls have escaped her bun, they rest on her collar bone. Even though her make-up is heavy, no amount of makeup can hide her expressive, beautiful, milk chocolate eyes. They're especially warm as she looks at me right now. I snap out of my reprieve and focus on our conversation.

"I'll meet you outside your dressing room." I tell her. She wiggles her fingers in goodbye and heads toward the door. Before I know what has happened I blurt out, "Oh and Max!" _Crap, great job Fang._

I go ahead and tell her anyway because it's the truth, she deserves to hear it, and she's my best friend. "You look really nice... tonight." I add for good measure. She blushes and her makeup looks alarmingly red.

"Um, thanks." She mumbles not meeting my eyes and then opens the door and she's gone. I just realize now why I thought her makeup was extremely heavy earlier. _She was blushing._ Then I remember I was shirtless. Huh. I chuckle to myself, good old Max.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

After closing night Sam and I got closer than ever. We ate lunch together, studied together, and went on tons of dates. He was the charmer. We were so together that people started giving us nicknames. Such as Sax (can we say, 'no'?), Lawride (Our last names? Really?), or our personal fave, Samax (which sounds like something a girl would use to stem her menstrual cycle). Greaaat. But to give them the benefit of the doubt - we are officially a "couple". I just wish I could say the same about Fang and Lissa...

On the last day of school before winter break the entire Phantom cast gathers in Mrs. Leekly's classroom for a party. A little late, but it seemed like a good way to kick off our holiday. The music is blaring and everyone is enjoying pizza and soda.

"Everyone!" Mrs. Leekly's voice resonates through the drama room. We all stop and give her our attention. "I just want to say what a wonderfu job you all did! You guys put on the best school production this school has ever seen!" Lissa appears at my side and whispers,

"That must mean it was really really good. In all my years of performing Mrs. Leekly has never said that about any of our previous school productions." Lissa sounds a little sad. I remember that she's been the lead girl up until now. I feel as if I "stole" her spotlight.

"Don't worry, I tell her. I'm sure she's just saying it to be nice." I reassure her... or try to anyway.

"No. She never downplays anything. If something sucks, she'll tell you. She won't sugar coat it." Lissa murmurs, her thoughts somewhere else. Our conversation is cut short as Mrs. Leekly continues her speech.

"My husband and son were very, very, very pleased with the performance! They came on closing night. As many of you know, my husband is the math and choir teacher at the Century School at the edge of town. As they have a fantastic performing arts program, you know he's not joking around." She says beaming. "And Brandon, my four year old, loved your performance very much. He says the girl in the white dress was, how did he put it, 'weally weally puurttty'." She quotes in her son's baby voice. We all laugh. "Max, where are you?" I raise my hand. "Ah yes, I think you have got yourself another admierer." I blush and look down at my feet. "Sam, you better keep her close." Mrs. Leekly jokes with a coy wink. Will she ever grow up? Probably not, and I hope she never will! Sam, on my other side, wraps his arms around my waist and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I just laugh good-naturally.

"And Fang!" Mrs. Leekly gets out over the hoots and catcalls going around the room after our affectionate exchange. "My son says you were the "bestest, singer ever'!" She says with a grin. Fang just chuckles in that way only Fang can chuckle. "I'm not joking, Brandon has been singing Phatntom of the Opera songs for the past month because of your perforamnce. Well done everyone! Okay, continue partying!" And so we do.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

It's Christmas today. My family piles into the living room and being to unwrap the colorful presents around the tree. Nudge was jumping up and down with the 259073929321 fashion magazines I had gotten her and the clothes from my parents. Max had given her the latest Taylor Swift CD, Nudge was pretty pleased with that too. Gazzy got a pet turtle from Mom and Dad and the Cars DVD from me. Max had gotten him a t-shirt that said "Rebel", how fitting. I got Angel the Tangled movie she'd been begging for. From our parents, she got a girly canopy to hang over her bed. But her favorite gift out of all of them was, of course, Max's. She got a small white stuffed bear dressed up as an angel. It came with a not that said, "When I saw her, I knew I had to get her for you because she's an angel, just like you". Angel had already named her Celeste. I got mom the electronic can opener she had been wanting. (She's left handed and always has to have one of us to open her cans for her.) And for my dad I got him a new pair of Ray Bands because his old ones had broke, not to mention, when he _sat_ on them.

But on the bright side, my parents got me a new guitar. It was black with mother-of-pearl inlays on the surface. It was awesome. They had noticed that I had started playing guitar again after Phantom. Max said she'd give me mine when we went to her house for dinner tonight.

Speaking of Max, I wondered how Max liked her gift. I didn't really know what to get her so I decided to get her a... shall we say... surprise.

_Meanwhile... in the Batchelder household..._

**Max's POV**

I had gotten a new pair of Converse from Nudge, my black ones were looking kinda ratty, so thank you! A bunch of new CD's from Iggy, A new iPod and $50 iTunes giftcard from Jeb and Anne (QUADRUPLE THANK YOU), and a handmade framed picture of Ari and I from Ari. It was a good picture from last summer. We went on a drive to the beach back when we lived in LA.I had my arms wrapped around him for the camera and he turned to give me a kiss on the cheek. I had my eyes closed laughing and you could tell Ari was smiling through his kiss too. The sand and beach made up the background. The air was a perfect cloudless blue, it was one of my favorite memories of LA.

When we were finished unwrapping our gifts I headed back upstairs to put everything away. I put the picture on my beside table. It looked great. I went back to my bed and warily eyed the one unopened gift that waiting for me. As it was the one from Fang it was wrapped in, you guessed it, black wrapping paper. There was a big silver bow on it. What was in it? A stink bomb that would blow up in my face as soon as I tore off the wrapping paper? A bunch of bugs? What? After a moments hesitation I gathered up my courage and tore off the bow and paper. Inside was an nondescript white box. I opened the lid and looked inside.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

We arrived at Max's house for dinner that night. I was laughing in my head remembering our Thanksgiving extravaganza. Look how well that turned out, and hoped that they had not allowed Max into the kitchen for this one.

My parents had forced me into black dress pants and collared shirt. All in black of course. The only hint of color I had was my dark red tie. I know, normally I only wear button-downs and ties if it's Halloween, but it's not that I can't dress myself. As a matter of fact, I have a killer fashion sense, it's just that I normally choose not to. But it made me feel a little better that everyone else was dressed up too.

The doorbell rings and Anne rushes to answer to door. It's Sam and family. We all say "Hi" and the adults go back to talking. The kids all run around the house playing with each other in their fancy evening wear. Max isn't down yet so Sam and I make small-talk. I never really knew Sam that well before Phantom, I guess you could say Max brought us together. That makes it sound so corny, but it's true. Sigh, where is that girl?

Nudge comes down the stairs first wearing a dark green silk dress. When she comes down she tells us,

"I had to make sure she was wearing something acceptable, which of course she wasn't." Leave it to Nudge to make sure Max was dressed properly. What should I care what Max wears? She could wear a t-shirt and sweats everyday and I wouldn't care.

But when Max starts her descent down the stairs it's two, not one, pair of male eyes that follow her every step.

*ooOoo*

**Sam's POV**

When Max comes to a rest in front of us she has a sour expression on her face.

"I hate this." She says, and the spell that held me, and somewhat annoyingly, Fang. I laughed out loud, Fang just cracked a half-smile.

"You look beautiful, as always." I tell her and give her a light kiss of those beautiful full lips. There's something sticky on them. Nudge's doing. I try to discreetly wipe it off on the back of my hand. I don't succeed.

"Blame Nudge." Is all Max says with a glare in Nudge's direction. Nudge just smiles sweetly in response.

"Yes, I blame her for making you look amazing." I say. And it's true. She's wearing a deep red velvet dress. It comes down to her knees. The bodice is fitted with thick tank-top like straps. The red material plays with the red highlights in her hair. Which is held back with a black headband. There's a subtle bow on it. That one must have taken Max a lot of convincing. And she's wearing strappy black heels, low, but still heels. I'm surprised for Maximum Ride doesn't do bows, or ribbons, or dresses, to admit it. But the end result looks perfect so I'm not going to argue. With a hint of something I can't place I realize it matches the tie Fang is wearing exactly. Standing next to each other they look like a couple. I vied for a green button down. Knew I should have worn my red one. Iggy sides up to us then, his plate loaded with food. He seems happy as a clam. Hope he doesn't get any of that shrimp cocktail on his white shirt...

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

As Sam is talking to Iggy and Nudge I corner Fang.

"Coal? Is that the best you could do?" I whisper-shout at him! I'm seething. That borish, brainless, nincompoop filled my present with coal! The nincompoop is currently shaking with silent laughter.

"I just wanted to see your expression." He gets out and then bursts into laughter again. Why that little-!

"Well now you've seen it, happy?" I ask with my death-glare I reserve for people I hate most on my best friend's face.

"Yes." He says still smiling. Idiot. Does he _want_ to die? "Okay, okay. That was a joke. But did you ever see what was buried underneath the coal?" He asks. _Under the coal? _I was so angry that I didn't bother to empty the box.

"No." I admit sheepishly.

"Well, since you're in such a pretty dress. I won't make you go pawing through the box of dirty, black, coal." Gosh was he trying to mention the word "coal" as often as possible to rub it in my face?

"Yeah... black like your heart." I muttered under my breath. He just chuckled again.

"Well, Miss Ride. I was, going to teach you how to play the acoustic guitar." He told me. My mouth fell open.

"Are... are you serious?" I ask, my eyes wide.

"No, I'm lying." He says with a straight face. This is how he's telling the truth.

"OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!" I'm jumping up and down in my heels and dress almost screaming my head off. I tackle him in a big hug. He stands there stiffly like a statue and I make do the best I can. For all intents and purposes, I could be hugging a rock. Whatever - I'm too happy to care. When I finally stop jumping he hesitatingly wraps his arms around me in a hug-like motion. We break apart and I'm grinning at him. He has his signature crooked smile on his face like it's no big deal. But I can see in his eyes that he's just as excited and as happy as I am.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you so much!" I tell him. By now everyone is staring at us. Oh well. Our new housekeeper, Susan, comes out and announces dinner is served. Time to eat!

*ooOoo*

**Sam's POV**

After our delicious dinner of roast beef and garlic mashed potatoes, I pull Max aside in her family room. Everyone else is milling around waiting for dessert. I take both of her hands in mine. I hope she likes her gift, seeing how much she liked Fang's made me hesitant to give her anything after that. I don't think anything can trump that.

"Here you go." I tell her handing her a small gold package.

"You didn't have to get me anything." She says. Yeah right I didn't.

"Well you got me that awesome t-shirt. How am I supposed to thank you?" I ask her. She rolls her eyes.

"That was nothing. I knew you liked the Beatles so I got you one of their shirts. No big." She said.

"You also gave me a note saying you wanted to take me to dinner and a movie - your treat. Is that She right?" I remind her.

"Yes. And I hope you take that offer up soon!" She says with smile.

"I definitely will." I reassure her. She seems satisfied and rips the wrapping paper off. Removing the lid I hear her gasp. Nestled in the white cotton is a delicate silver chain. A small heart shaped locket dangles from the chain.

"Will you put it on me?" She asks me. I nod and hold my hand out for the necklace. She turns holding her hair up off her neck. I clip it and she turns. It looks just as I imagined it would.

"Thank you so much! I hope you didn't spend too much!" She says wrapping her arms around my neck. I hug her waist and reassure her it didn't.

"But, every penny was worth it." I tell her. She smiles and gives me a kiss on the cheek then we go join everyone for apple pie!

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Before Sam gave me my beautiful locket I had been with Fang giving him his Christmas gift.

"Here you go. Merry Christmas." I say handing him a wide fat package. He looks at me suspiciously before investigating the wrapping.

"This isn't like, contaminated is it? It's not going to cause me any physical harm?" He asks me.

"No, dorkbrain. It's called wrapping paper. No wait, I take that back. Be aware of massive paper cuts! It could lead to sliced skin, some blood, and maybe even a long painful... bandaid?" I suggest playfully. Fang isn't amused. Tearing open the Christmas colored wrapping paper he finds a black leather bound sketchbook and matching journal. With it came a set of specially monogrammed drawing pencils. They all had N. F. Walker engraved on it in gold letters. The last thing he pulled out was a slim black and with gold trim, fountain pen. Opposite of his engraved name was a message I picked out. It read, "Dream big. Fly high." He remained quiet.

"Umm... your mom told me you used to like to draw but then you stopped. So I thought you might want to start again. I also thought you might want to keep a journal... hence the uh... journal." I say quietly. He looks at me with an intense stare, still not saying a word. Great he hates it. Knew I should have stuck with the black t-shirts.

"If you don't like it that's fine." I say quietly looking at the floor. Fangs fingers gently lift my face so I'm looking up into his eyes.

"No Max, it's perfect." He says quietly. He sets it down on a table and this time it's him who starts the hug. "Thank you. So much." He murmurs into my hair.

"You're welcome." I give him a small smile. "But seriously if you don't like it - you don't have to lie for me."

"I'm not lying," He says seriously.

"Okay." I say.

"Okay." He repeats and we head back to where the others are talking.

After that Sam found me and gave me my necklace which I put on right away. I love it - I just need to find a small enough picture of us to put in it. As we all eat dessert Jeb stands up and says he has an announcement to make.

"My business partner has decided that our LA branch is doing fine, under our new manager and has decided to come help me start this one here in Arizona." I roll my eyes at that. Of course this is about business. It's all Jeb ever talks about! But the next part gets me.

"Yes, so you kids, yes I'm talking to you." He repeats pointing at Fang, Sam, Iggy, and I. "You need to make him feel very welcome. You understand?" I'm not getting it, what? How did the conversation go from business to school?

Slowly my mind starts to process everything. Jeb's business partner was moving to Arizona from LA. Jeb's business partner is Dylan's mother. Dylan's mother was moving to Arizona, meaning her family was too. Everything hit me like a ton of freaking bricks, Dylan, was coming to Arizona.

**Did you hear that? Dylan's coming! It'll be one big happy family. Dylan, and Sam, and Fang, and Max. All together. In Arizona. Oh, goodie. Wonder what will happen next?**

**Fly on,**

**Mx2Blue326 and NarutoLover7890**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey!**  
**So as for that last chapter I know it took us like FOREVER to update - the same way it's taken so long to update this one! Sorry about that! Also I'm sorry for any spelling errors/grammatical errors in it. As NarutoLover7890 was busy, I wrote that one all by myself with only Word's spell check as my companion. So I may have missed a few things - whoops! I also finished it at 1:00am in the morning! AH!**

**Disclaimer:**  
**Mx2Blue326: How many times do we have to go through this?**  
**NarutoLover7890: I don't know, I guess until these people get it. But do you think I look like a James Patterson?**  
**Mx2Blue326: Nope, sorry. James doesn't really fit a teenage girl like yourself. What about me?**  
**NarutoLover7890: No, sorry - doesn't work so well for you either! **  
**Mx2Blue326: Oh, really? Darn. Oh well, he's just too awesome a writer for me!**  
**NarutoLover7890: That makes two of us! AKA: This means that we aren't James Patterson and will never be able to match up to his awesomeness! He owns all rights to Max and Co. 3**

* * *

**Chapter 14:**

**Dylan's POV**

I was finally going to get to see Max, the love of my life, again. We hadn't talked in the last few months except for a few e-mails. So this was going to be great! Except for one minor detail... okay maybe not so minor.

_**Flashback:**_

"_DYLAN ANTHONY JACKSON. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE MOVING TO ARIZONA!" J.J. screams at me. Now I know she's mad because, no one, no one, ever uses my full name unless they are about to kill me._

"_My mom's business." I reply weakly. Man this girl is as scary, or maybe even more scary, than Max! I quickly banish that thought. No one is as scary as Max. But I'll tell you this, J.J. came pretty darn close._

"_Business. That's all you can say for yourself?" She exclaims then starts murmuring in Japanese. Proabably cursing my sorry butt all the way to Botswana. _

"_Yes?" It comes out more like a question than the affirmative answer I was going for. Great Dylan! Way to be a sap!_

"_What am I supposed to do in LA all by myself? I mean, seriously? First Max, now you? You guys are so selfish, bailing on me and leaving me here alone." She looks like she's going to burst into tears any second. Oh great, as if my life wasn't complicated enough!_

"_J.J. it's alright!" I tell her wrapping her in a big hug. "You can visit as much as you want! I promise! We're only one state boundary away." I reassure her._

"_Really? Do you mean it?" She asks, sniffling. I sigh._

"_Yes. I promise." I tell her. She gives me a small smile and we head to Charlotte's for one last time._

I shook my head staring out the plane window. Yeah, it was that fast. We were all packed and ready to go in a week. My mom had registered me for school at the same High School where Max went. This was going to be great! I could finally explain to her how I feel about her, except for real this time. It would be just like old times.  
When the plane hits the ground I'm bouncing up and down in my seat in anticipation. I feel like I'm going to Disneyland for the first time. _Get a grip on yourself, man! You're 15 not 5, gosh darn it._ I scold myself. But as we got off the plane I couldn't keep the grin off my face. When we arrived at the baggage claim I looked over people's heads to see if I could spot her. Luckily being 6' 3" it wasn't that hard. I finally spot her standing with her parents and Ari by one of the benches in the baggage claim. My parents were behind me heading to get the luggage. I didn't care, I had eyes only for Max. When I come closer I notice that her expression is one of anxiety. She's chewing on her bottom lip, bouncing up and down, and clenching and unclenching her fists. She only did this when she was nervous, or when she really had to pee, it couldn't be me right? But I don't really wanna think about the other option... She turns her head and finally sees me heading towards them. She walks up to me and gives me a big smile, all doubts I had earlier faded away. I grabbed her in a huge bear hug and spun her around in a circle. By the end she was laughing. Man, it was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

"Put me down, you dork!" She said still laughing. I started laughing too, it was so good to see her.

"Same old Max." I grin. She smiles but there's a tightening in her eyes. What was she hiding?

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Oh my gosh. He was really here. Dylan, all 6' 3" of him was standing in front of me. He was excpecting me to be the same old Max. But I wasn't. I had a new best guy friend and a boyfriend. I don't know how I was going to explain all of this to him. He would always be one of my best guy-friends though, so I tried to swallow my fears and do my best to welcome him to Arizona.

It turned out he was living five doors down from us. Oh goodie. I sighed.

"So where are all the cool hangouts?" Dylan asked me on the ride home from teh airport.

"Umm... bascially the school or the mall. They have a few restaurants and a theater there. We also spend a lot of time at each others' houses." I tell him. Oh great. Misake #1: Other peoples' houses. Gosh Max, are you really just stupid? But he doesn't seem to notice.

"Is there a good diner like Charlotte's?" He asks me.

"No, there's nowhere that was as good as Charlotte's, but there's a coffee shop at the mall." I admit to him. I realized right then how much I missed Charlotte's milkshakes. As if reading my mind, Dylan brings out a cooler. Inside is my favorite Cookies'n'Creme milkshake. OH MY GOSH.

"OH MY GOSH! IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?" I squeal.

"Yeah. I thought you might be craving one of these." He told me.

"You are so sweet!" I tell him giving him a hug. He truly is such a good guy. At that point we pull up to my house.

"This is my house." I tell him.

"Cool. I like it." He says inspecting it.

"Want to come inside?" I ask him.

"Duh." I roll my eyes at him. Sarcastic as ever.

"So how's everything in LA?" I ask as we tour the house.

"Fine. J.J. was bummed out I was leaving though. She blamed both of us for bailing on her." He winces as if he's trying to forget a bad memory.

"Oh. Well J.J. will be J.J.. Man do I miss her!"

"Yeah, I do too. But I'm cool moving out here. So how's Arizona been?"

"Fine." Is my million dollar answer. I feel like Fang.

"Really? Made any new friends?" He asks. Crapola.

"Yeah. I met this girl named Nudge and Ella they're very nice. Although Nudge talks more than J.J., if you can believe it. But she's gorgeous, like supermodel material. Ella is nice too, she's more quiet though. But really pretty. And there's... uh... Lissa! She has the voice of an angel and she's such a... doll." Where the _h_ did that come from? **(A/N: I believe that was in there somewhere...) **Right now I'm drilling imaginary screws into my eyes. Stupid stupid stupid! _Doll? Seriously Max, is that the best you can do? You used to be able to lie on command like a pro!_ But on the upside, phew!, disaster avoided. I mean, it wasn't entirely a lie... Cough.

"Ah cool. I'm glad you're friends are... herm... 'dolls'." He says raising an eyebrow at me. Right now my head is already beginning to throb with the brain damage I would inflict on myself later when I was all alone. But I force a smile on my face and manage a tight, "this way!" as we continue our tour.

"So here's my room." I tell him, leading the way up to the third floor. I saw his eyes widen in surprise. He looks impressed. I smile smugly to myself. It _was _cooler than your normal bedroom. In fact, on a cool scale of 1 to 10, mine was an easy 15! **(A/N: And lookie here, there's another one!)**

"I like what you've done with the place." Dylan replies still glancing around. But suddenly he stops cold.

"What? What's wrong?" I'm immediately attentive, doing 360˚s, scouting for anything out of the ordinary. Living next to an insane pyromaniac prankster does that to ya! (If you've forgotten to who I'm referring to, it would be the the Iggster.)  
"Max, what is this?" Dylan sounds like he's half trying to laugh and half trying not to choke. My eyes finally stop spazzing around the room enough for me them to focus on the hot pink 5" stiletto heel Dylan is holding up by one finger. Nudge. OH, KILL ME NOW!

*ooOoo*

**Dylan's POV**

Even though Max has some odd behaviors, everything else is going fine. We're all settled in in our new home and I start school on Monday. My room is on the second floor and is larger than the one in LA. I have my own bathroom and TV and stuff. It's pretty cool.

Lying on my bed, I plugged my earphones into my iPod and close my eyes. Wanting to relax I chose _River Flows in You_ by Yiruma. I know, it's not really a "manly" kind of song, but I'm not really having "manly" kind of thoughts. I'm kind of having sappy love thoughts right now, about Max. And, not to mention the fact that this guy is absolutely a genius with the piano.  
_Max._Gosh she's beautiful, and fierce. Sometimes I find myself just staring at her. Zoning out of our conversations and just staring. She doesn't see herself in the way others do. I was so surprised that she chose me out of all the other people she could have hung out with. But she did, and being Max, I couldn't help but start falling in love with her. She spent her time alone with J.J. and I just because we met when we were younger. If she opened her eyes she would see that she would fit in anywhere. She could be popular, without even trying, but she tries to hide her talent and beauty. I guess I'm glad, otherwise I would have so much more competition. She never dated and never seemed interested in it. So I'm not that worried. My problem is seeing if she will be able to see me in a different way. I'll just be here, waiting for her to see that I'm in love with her, always have been and always will be. That I'm here waiting and watching. The song ends and I just stare at the ceiling remembering when we first met...

_ "Honey, I need to get to work at my new job, otherwise I would walk you in. But you're a big boy, you can go in by yourself, can't you?" My mom asks, from the drivers seat. I sit in the back looking out the car window at the passing trees. _  
_ "Sure, Mom." I reply. I try to keep the hurt out of my voice. Her work has always come first. Especially since this time she's been promoted to being a President of her company. A new branch of the company she worked for, Itex, had just opened up a new branch in LA. That's why we moved. My Dad was in the hospital getting more tests done as he had been doing for the past year. So he couldn't take me. My parents had never really told me why Dad was always in the hospital, and I didn't question it. He promised the doctors were helping him get better and I believed him. My mom didn't talk about it much either - she just threw herself deeper in her work. _  
_ "Thanks, honey. I knew you would understand. I really am sorry." My mom says throwing me a smile in the review mirror. "We'll have you're favorite, spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight, alright? And of course, chocolate ice cream for dessert. We have to celebrate your first day of second grade." She says. _  
_ "Okay." I reply. I didn't really care about that, I just really wanted her to come with me, but that was okay. I didn't get my hopes up anymore._  
_ We pulled up in the school lot and she stopped the car. I saw other children getting out being walked to the door by their parents. I would be the only one without someone there. I got out and grabbed my new blue backpack from the car. It was my favorite color blue. Not navy, not light blue, but a mix, a bright, deep, blue. When I showed it to my Dad he told me it matched my eyes. I wish he were here. I quickly brush off the thought and close the door. My mom blows me a kiss and I wave until her car pulls out of the parking lot onto the street. I let out a big sigh and turn to face my new school._  
_ I follow the steady stream of kids and parents inside the school building. I find the second grade classrooms without too much trouble. There's only three classrooms so I check the class lists on the doors. I'm was in the one with the red door on the left. My teacher was Mrs. Sanderson. I push open the heavy door. _  
_ Mrs. Sanderson is meeting other parents. When she sees me she excuses herself and comes over to talk to me._  
_ "Hi! I'm Mrs. Sanderson." She had big green eyes and long blond hair. She had a pretty smile. _  
_ "Hi, I'm Dylan." I reply giving her a small smile._  
_ "Hi Dylan. Is your mom or dad here?" She asks. My smile falters._  
_ "No. My mom and dad are busy so they couldn't make it." I explain._  
_ "Oh, that's too bad, but it's okay. We're going to have lots of fun today, okay?" She says with another smile. Her bright green eyes are gentle on mine._  
_ "Okay." I say smiling back at her again. I already liked her._  
_ "Come with me and I'll show you your desk and cubby hole." I follow her and she helps get me settled. The door opens and another boy comes into the classroom with, of course, his mother and father in tow. Mrs. Sanderson tells me to feel free to explore the classroom and goes to greet them._  
_ I set my backpack and lunchpail in my cubby and then walk around the classroom unsure of what I should do. All of the other kids are either talking to their parents or already paired up with friends._  
_ "Your shoe lace is untied." A voice says behind me. I turn to see a tall skinny brown haired girl. She was wearing a blue shirt, the same exact blue as my backpack, white shorts, and the same black converse that I was wearing. Her intelligent brown eyes studying me carefully. She had a very light splash of freckles over her cheeks and nose. Her hair was in a single braid down her back. Judging by how we were eye to eye, she was the exact same height as me. _  
_ "Hello? I said your shoe lace is untied." She said again annoyed. I looked away embarrassed. I had been staring._  
_ "Umm... yeah, thanks." I manage to get out, staring at my shoes. Indeed, my left shoe lace was untied._  
_ "Well, aren't you going to tie it?" She asks me. Great, she thinks I'm an imcompotent fool. (Yes, I'm only in second grade but I'm smart. Face it, I got a big vocabulary.)_  
_ "Yeah," I cough. "I would, but I don't know how to." I admit. The girl rolls her thoughtful brown eyes at me._  
_ "Well we better fix that, huh?" She says looking at me._  
_ "Yes?" She raises an eyebrow at me. "Yes. Yes. We should." I say with more certainty in my voice. That seems to appease her._  
_ "Come." She commands leading me to a stool on the carpet. I follow her obediently. "Now I'm going to show you how to and then I'm going to untie it so you can do it yourself, okay?" She asks._  
_ "Okay." I reply._  
_ "Okay." She repeats. Bending down she proceeds to tie my shoelace and then, like she said, she untied it. I concentrate and watch her the first time so I don't seem look stupid in front of her again. I tie it correctly._  
_ "Good job." She says._  
_ "Thanks. For your help." I add on._  
_ "No problem." She replies with a small smile. Suddenly her face isn't as serious as I originally thought. She looks happier._  
_ "So your parents here?" I ask trying to make conversation. Immediatly the smile twists itself into a scowl._  
_ "Nope." She says. "My Dad is too busy with work to drop his daughter off at school." She sounds annoyed, as annoyed as I felt with my Mom._  
_ "Mine too." I say. I'm glad I'm not alone._  
_ "Aren't parents so mean?" She asks._  
_ "Sometimes." I reply._  
_ "Max!" Our attention is drawn elsewhere when a short black haired girl comes up to us. She was wearing a red top and jeans. Her bangs hang in a perfectly straight line on her forehead._  
_ "Oh, hey J.J." The girl replies. Wait, she's Max?_  
_ "Wait, you're name is Max?" I ask her._  
_ "Yeah. You got a problem with that?" She asks me a warning in her tone._  
_ "Nope. I think it's really cool." I tell her truthfully. She smiles at me again._  
_ "This is J.J. and you are?" She asks me._  
_ "Dylan. Dylan Jackson." I reply._  
_ "Max. Maximum Ride." She says. "This is my best friend, J.J. Chong. We've been friends since last year." Max explains._

"_Oh cool." I say. Great, she already has a friend, she probably doesn't need another, especially a boy to join her group. But at that moment Mrs. Sanderson calls us over to the carpet. Everyone was here I guess._

"_Come sit with us." Max says beckoning me over to her and J.J. Or maybe not. I smile at her and plop down on the carpet next to her. We were gonna be great friends._

Of course Max teaches me how to tie my shoes and doesn't just do it for me. And she's still bossy as ever. I shake my head at the memory but I can't keep the smile off my face.

*ooOoo*

**Sam's POV**

My phone rings. It's Max. I smile to myself. I can't believe this girl is all _mine._  
"Hello?" I ask.  
"Hey!" I hear her say.  
"What's up?" I ask.  
"Nothing much. But remember when at Christmas dinner my Dad said that his business partner was going to move here?" She asks me. She sounds kind of nervous... I wonder why.  
"Yes..." I say warily.  
"Well, they moved. They just came here today. My dad's partner's son is Dylan, he's our age. A friend from LA." She says.  
"Oh cool! Can I meet him?" I ask.  
"Oh! Uhh... I think they're unpacking right now. So I'll get back to you on that." She says.  
"Uh, okay. Is everything okay, Max?" I ask her.  
"Yes. Of course everything is fine, why wouldn't it be?" She asks. She so does not sound okay.  
"I don't know, you just sound... sort of antsy." I admit to her.  
"No I don't," She says quickly, a little too quickly.  
"Okay, fine whatever you say." I tell her, by now I'm getting a little worried and annoyed. She's keeping something from me. Does it have anything to do with this new guy I wonder?  
"Yeah, everything is fine, promise!" She says. "I just wanted to check up on you. I'll talk to you later, bye!"  
"Okay, bye Max." I say. And the line disconnects. What was going on with my girlfriend?

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**

I'm just finished tuning my acoustic guitar when my door bangs open. Max comes marching in.  
_Hadn't anyone ever heard of knocking before?_  
"Yes?" I ask. Today was supposed to be our first guitar lesson but she seems a little... out of it today. In that one word, she knows I'm asking her, _What's wrong? Spill. I'm here. Let me help you._  
"DylanjustmovedinandIdon'tknowwhatI'mgoingtodo!Hedoesn'tknowaboutSamand-"  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down! I can't understand you!" I tell her. "Take a deep breath." She does but soon her face starts turning slightly purple. "Uh, exhale, dimwit." I tell her. She does that too.  
_Wow, she must be upset_, I realize. She didn't glare at me when I called her 'dimwit'. Huh.  
"Now explain to me - slowly and clearly - as to why you're freaking out right now." I tell her.  
"Okay... as you know, before I moved to Arizona I was best friends with Dylan and J.J.," She begins. I feel a prickle of annoyance upon hearing Dylan's. Her old "best guy-friend". Never met the guy, but I can't help feeling jealous that there was someone else in this world who used to know Max as well as I do now. But I quickly push down those emotions (we all know how much I love those) and try to listen to Max. Thankfully I've gotten really good at hiding my true emotions and am able to keep a sarcastic, cocky, look on my face.  
"So?" I ask.  
"So, he just moved here this morning and he doesn't know anyone yet. He doesn't know that you're like my best friend now or that Sam's my boyfriend and I'm just really worried that this is going to be really awkward." She admits. Sadly after "you're like my best friend now" I felt extremely happy and then had the decency to feel bad about being annoyed with Dylan. I knew if I was best friends with her first and then she moved and found a new best guy-friend, well, I would be kinda ticked off. So I understood what she was getting at.  
"Okay, well, he's not exactly entitled to know all of your secrets, but you've got to be fair to him. He kind of deserves to know, and if he's really the guy you say he is, then he'll be fine with it." I tell her feeling very much like a shrink. Meh...  
"Yeah. I know. I'm just worried. I think I changed a bit since I was in LA and I don't want him to be disappointed when he sees who I've become." She says.  
"Well, how about you throw him a welcome party? I've seen it in movies and stuff and it seems like a good way for the new guy to meet everyone, and it's just an excuse to have a good party." I suggest. Hmmm... I won't factor out 'shrink' on my future career choices. I'm pretty good at this advice stuff.  
"Yeah, maybe. I don't know." She says.  
"Well, think about it, right now we have a guitar lesson to start." I remind her holding out the one I just tuned for her.  
"Right." She takes my guitar from me and gives me a smile that makes my chest go tight. "Thanks, Fang. What would I do without you?" She asks teasingly.

"Hmmm... join a circus?" I answer. She rolls her eyes and turns her attention to the guitar. Good old Max.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

Not to be a show off or anything, but I'm pretty good at this guitar stuff. I mean, after learning the chords I'm able to kinda read and play music now. But, it's all thanks to Fang, he's a surprisingly good teacher.

"You're doing great, actually, you're doing amazing, but don't let it all go to your head." Fang said with a grin. I laugh.  
"You're not a bad teacher yourself." I admit to him.  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you very much." He says with a little bow. I laugh again. I know I came into the lesson ranting like a crazy person, but after an hour with Fang I feel like I don't have a care in the world. I only get that feeling after I'm with him, it's a great feeling. I highly recommend it! **(A/N: I loved this scene in the book... 3 TEEHEE)**  
Fang picks up the discareded guitar and starts strumming. I recognize the rhythmic, _strum, strum, strum, strum, strum, strum, strum, strum_ from the opening of _Lucky_by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat. He nods at me to comes sit next to him and I understand what he wants me to do. While he strums I quickly replace his fingers on the frets. With me practicing my key changes and him strumming, he starts singing.

_**Do you hear me?**_  
_**I'm talking to you,**_  
_**Across the water,**_  
_**Across the deep, blue, ocean,**_  
_**Under the open sky, oh my,**_  
_**Well baby I'm trying.**_

I come in next, luckily (LOL) singing is second nature after _Phantom_so I can concentrate on my fingers when it's my turn to sing.

_**Boy I hear you, in my dreams.**_  
_**I feel your whisper, across the sea.**_  
_**Keep you with me, in my heart.**_  
_**You make it easier, when life gets hard.**_

Smiling, I turn to find Fang is smiling at me too. We harmonize the chorus.

_**Lucky I'm in love with my best friend,**_  
_**Lucky to have been, what I have been,**_  
_**Lucky to be coming home again.**_  
_**Oohh, oohh, oooh, ooohoohooooohhh.**_

We stagger our voices for the next part of the song, with me starting.

_**They don't know how long it takes,**_  
_**(They don't know how long it takes),**_  
_**Waiting for a love like this,**_  
_**Every time we say goodbye**_  
_**(Every time we say goodbye),**_  
_**I wish we had one more kiss.**_  
_**I'll wait for you,**_  
_**I promise you,**_  
_**I wii-ii-iilll. Ohh I...**_

_**I'm Lucky I'm in love with my best friend,**_  
_**Lucky to have been where I have been,**_  
_**Lucky to be coming home again.**_  
_**Lucky we're in love, in every way.**_  
_**Lucky to have stayed, where we have stayed,**_  
_**Lucky to be coming home someday.**_

Fang continues by himself for the second verse, but I tag on at the end and harmonize with him.

_**So I'm sailing, through the sea.**_  
_**To an island where we'll meet.**_  
_**You'll hear the music, fill the air.**_  
_**I'll put a flower, in your hair.**_

I take over singing.

_**Though the breezes, through the trees,**_  
_**Blow so pretty, you're all I see.**_  
_**As the world keeps spinning round,**_  
_**You hold me right here right now.**_

_**Lucky I'm in love with my best friend,**_  
_**Lucky to have been where I have been,**_  
_**Lucky to be coming home again.**_  
_**Lucky we're in love, in every way.**_  
_**Lucky to have stayed, where we have stayed,**_  
_**Lucky to be coming home someday.**_

_**Oohh, oohh, oooh, ooohoohooooohhh.**_  
_**Oohh, oohh, oooh, ooohoohooooohhh.**_  
_**Ooohhhooohhhoooohhh!**_

Fang ends the strum and we both smile at each other.

"That was so freaking awesome!" I say with a grin.

"Yeah. Nice job with the chords." Fang replies, _ever_ being Mr. Teacher.

"Haha, nice job with the strumming." I smile. All of a sudden the door bangs open and Nudge rushes in.

"ZOMG! That was you guys? I was like, I've never heard this version of _Lucky_ on the radio yet! I have to go buy it, but I come in and I hear that it was you guys, LIVE! That was amazing - you guys need to start a band or something. You're sooo good! If you recorded that, I would totally buy it!" She babbles. Fang and I exchange glances.

"Start up a band?" Fang repeats.

"Yeah! You guys could be like,_ The Max and Fang Band_!" Nudge yells.

"'_The Max and Fang Band'?" _I repeat. Fang and I exchange glances and then bust up laughing.

"It's not _that_ bad an idea!" Nudge replies, a wounded look marring her sweet face.

"You know, it isn't." Fang replies. I just keep giggling, until I see the look on his face. He was serious. Great.

"You go ahead and start up a band. You'll be great." I say.

"OHMYGOSH! You will? This is BEYOND cool! Please let me be your costume designer!" Nudge begs, her hands clasped together, her eyes huge with excitement.  
"Nudge, I'm sure we're capable of dressing ourselves..." Fang says with a wry smile.  
"Uh, no. You're not. You just wear black. Black shirt, black pants, black boots. You look emo." Nudge replies.  
"I do not." Fang says looking defensive. "I just like the color black."  
"Black is not a color." Nudge says. Fang rolls his eyes at me.  
"Ever since she took that summer art class she likes sprouting up all of these "art facts" on us. I guess she got her money's worth." He shakes his head and sighs. I guess he realizes it's no good to try and reason with Nudge, not when she has her mind made up like this.  
"So, who else you gonna recruit?" I ask him.  
"Well. I figured you, me, maybe Iggy - he can play the drums. And we can see who else is interested..." Fang's voice trails off.  
"Wait, wait, wait, wait. You have it all wrong. Me? I said YOU can go make a band. That excludes me. _Phantom_ was more than enough for me, thank you very much. I will support your band and come to your performances, but I will _not_ be joining you on stage." I say crossing my arms over my chest.  
"Come on, Max!" Nudge says turning to me. "Please?"  
"No, I already got dragged into doing a musical without my consent. NO I will NOT be doing this, it's non-negotiable." I say, my voice icy and cold. They should know better than to argue with me.  
"Okay. Okay, but just think about it, won't you?" Nudge asks me. I sigh.  
"I don't need to, my mind's made up." I tell them. "I'm have a welcoming party to plan. Thanks for the lesson, Fang. Bye Nudge." I call over my shoulder and get the hell out of there!

**Dylan's POV**  
Max was acting so weird. I hadn't seen her very much. I was kind of disappointed... I guess I expected with the reaction she had when her dad had told her they were moving had stuck. I thought she would be thrilled to see me, I thought, well, I thought we had more than this.  
I was sitting in my room trying to do some of my homework, while unsuccessfully trying to do homework (mostly thanks to my wandering thoughts about Max). My iPhone started buzzing on the bed. Huh, speak of devil. Max's smiling face appears on screen. I take a deep breath and then slide the unlock bar.  
"Hello?", I ask.  
"Hey! Are you busy right now? I'm having trouble with history. Think you can come over and help me?" She asks. Huh, nice of her to notice me _now._  
"Uh, yeah sure. I'll come over now." We aren't in the same history class but we have the same teacher. Trying not to run as fast as I can next door, I grab my backpack and try to maintain a casual pace and face just in case she was watching. I knock on the front door and a flustered looking Max appears. She has half of her body hidden behind the door her eyes have a erratic look you normally don't see on Maximum Ride's face. Something was up.  
"What's up?" I ask her. _Casual, be casual_. I'm screaming through my brain.  
"Nothing much. Could you wait just a second?" She closes the door and I hear some muffled sounds coming through the door. _What was she doing?_  
"Sorry, come on in!" Max says with a smile. I cautiously step around her and the door and immediately get punched in the face.

* * *

**Ohmygosh! What did Max do to him?**

**I don't know... guess you'll just have to figure out next time. :)**

**Once again so sorry for making you all wait FOREVER! I had more planned for this chapter but I decided I've made you wait long enough. I am also currently writing alone - we're so swamped that I can only write when I have time. So I'll just post this and continue with more surprises next time! :) Enjoy!**

**Fly on,**  
**Mx2Blue326**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey all,**  
**I'm so sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am - finals were rapidly approaching and the months leading up to this winter break has just been swamped; leaving me with little to no time to write! But, finally they are over and I have five days to myself! So, I'll keep this sort and sweet and get on with the story.**  
***Just a refresher, Dylan has just arrived to Arizona... and has just got a welcoming punch in the face. :)**

**Disclaimer****: I am in no way near as amazing as James Patterson nor never will be. AKA all rights to Max & Co. belong to him.**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**Dylan's POV**  
"SURPRISE!" I hear echoing around me. Okay, I realize. I did not get punched in the face, I just got a huge confetti cannon blasted in my face - easy mistake.  
"What's all this?" I ask looking at the person who's to blame for all of the glitter stuck to my hair.  
"Um, a surprise welcome party? Surprise!" Max ends by lifting her arms in a half-hearted pose of exclamation. Her expression looked a little sheepish but I looked her in the eye and they were sparkling with mischief. I turn to look at the mirror mounted on the wall. I see why she's having difficulty not laughing. I look like some fashion-crazy teenager attacked me with a bedazzle kit, then went and got her glitter collection and threw that on too. I catch Max's eye in the mirror and she breaks into a grin. That's the Max I know. I start laughing and everyone else joins in. I hadn't noticed how quiet everyone else was before this. Once I got over the initial shock of the party they all seemed to let out a collective breath. Turning back to each other they resumed their conversations before I came in.

Turning back to Max she comes up to me and gives me a big hug. I hug her back breathing in her familiar smell. My memory didn't do me justice. Her favorite shampoo hangs to her thick locks. _Wow how poetic, Dylan, you big dope,_ I think to myself pulling back before my mind gets even more messed up. I smile at her.

"Thanks Max, you shouldn't have!" I say. I feel kind of bad for thinking she was distant before. It was because she was planning this party for me.

"Oh, it's no trouble and a perfect way for you to meet everyone." She says. She flashes a quick smile but can't seem to catch my eye. Hmmm... Before I can think too much into that action a tall guy dressed all in black with black hair and olive skin comes up to us. _I'm taller and more built than he is_, is the first thought in my head. _Sheesh, jealous much. _I chide myself, I don't even know the guy. When he comes closer I realize wasn't as slight as I had thought. I was just a bit stockier, but I was a few inches taller. I rejoiced at the thought, _what was wrong with me?_

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**  
As I finished hugging Dylan I saw him looking over my shoulder at someone. His clear blue eyes were thoughtful when I turned to see Fang making his way over to us. His eyes were friendly but detached as he always was when meeting new people. It gave him time to decide if he liked them or not. That was how it was with Fang. Either it goes or not. I'm glad it went with us.  
"Oh, hey Fang!" I say trying to make my voice casually cheerful. It shot up an octave. Fang slightly raised an eyebrow and I felt Dylan's eyes on me. My two guy-friends knew me too well. I was nervous and in that instant I was glad Sam was busy helping his mom and was coming later on. _Stop it! _I scold myself, pushing my fears to the back of my mind. Even though they knew me well, they didn't really know the full extent of my poker face. It was excellent. Letting myself relax and engage them in conversation was pretty easy after that. _Max - 1_. I made a mental note to give myself a pat of the back later. **(A/N: Something like that anyway ;)**  
"Hey." Fang's quiet voice helped me relax even more. He wouldn't give away my past worries.

"Dylan this is Fang, Fang, Dylan," I said gesturing to the appropriate boy during the exchange.

"Hey, man," Dylan said with his easy smile. I knew I could count on him to make this easy. He always had a knack at making friends, fast. People liked his positive attitude. They shook hands while sizing each other up. _Typical boys_. I mentally rolled my eyes, some things would never change.

"Welcome to Arizona." Fang said with a slight smile. It looked like Dylan passed his test. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"Thanks, I'm glad to finally be meeting Max's new friends." Dylan said with another smile. I felt another bolt of guilt go through me. I shook it off and gestured for Dylan to follow. Fang went off, probably to find something to eat. He liked to eat almost as much as I did. As we made our way to the rest of the group I took Dylan around and introduced him to everyone.

"This is Iggy." I say with a slight grin as I introduce the slightly eccentric strawberry blond boy to Dylan.

"Hey!" Iggy said with a smile. Just like Dylan he was friendly with everyone, didn't judge them too harshly.

"Hey!" Dylan replied recognizing another easy-going guy. All of a sudden Gazzy comes streaking through the crowd. He launched himself at Iggy and clung to to his back like a monkey, that is a monkey with light blond curls and an angelic smile.

"Ooof!" Iggy exclaimed before he righted himself. He reached behind him and tousled Gazzy's already tousled hair.

"And this is Zephyr, also known as the Gasman. He's Fang's younger brother." I say grabbing Gazzy off of Iggy's back and giving him a hug. "You don't want to hang around long enough to figure out why." I supply at Dylan's questioning glance about Gazzy's nickname. Our way of knowing what each other was thinking without the other saying it was still in play, even after all this time. We knew each other so well.

"Gazzy, this is my friend Dylan. He's from LA." I say setting him back down on his feet. Gazzy peeks around me shyly looking up at Dylan from under his long eyelashes. Once you know him he's a firecracker, but he's always been shy around new people.

"Hey, little man!" Dylan says kneeling so he met Gazzy face-to-face. Affection swelled in my chest for Dylan. I had forgotten how great he was with kids. With only his mom, he never had the chance to have any siblings. Considering that you would think that he wouldn't know what to do around the little suckers. But somehow he always understood kids on a different level than most. But then again, he was good at everything.

Gazzy waved at Dylan and smiled his broken smile. Broken because he had lost a few teeth and the new ones hadn't quite come in yet.

"DYLAN!" Yelled another young voice. It was Ari. Wherever Gazzy went, Ari would follow. Ari adored Gazzy because Gazzy, like Iggy, was way too engrossed with blowing things up. Sigh, I hope he doesn't get knack for making bombs. Anne and Jeb would kill me. I made a mental note to tell Iggy to keep the bomb making on the down low so I didn't have a pyromaniac for a little brother.

"Hey Ari!" Dylan swept him up into a hug mid leap. Ari nestled his head into Dylan's shoulder. It made me want to tear up. My little brother was so dang adorable. Little Angel came trailing in after Ari. She walked with the grace and poise of a ballerina. She was wearing a new pink dress that helped with the effect. She calmly walked up to me and took my hand. She looked up at Dylan and smiled.

"Hi! What's your name?" Dylan asked setting Ari back on the ground. Ari and Gazzy disappeared in the crowd again, off on another adventure.

"Angel." Angel said, well, angelically and her small perfect features rearranged themselves in a smile. "Are you Max's friend?" She asked innocently.

"You bet I am." Dylan replied.

"Oh, well then we can be friends. Whoever is Max's friend is my friend too." She looked up at me, total trust in her eyes. I reached down, picked her up in my arms and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She was my baby. When I set her back down she went skipping away waving a goodbye at us.

"Wow, she's something else." Dylan said an enchanted look on his face. Angel's magic captivated all of us.

"Yes she is!" I agreed.

"ZOMG! Is that Dylan? Ohmygosh! He's totally like how I pictured a boy from LA would be, tan, muscles, and those eyes, oh swoon, but, like, better! No wonder you were disappointed to move! Are all of the guys this hot?"

"And this would be my little chatter-box, Nudge. She's Fang's sister." I said as Nudge skipped to my side. Her big brown eyes shined with delight as she took in Dylan's figure.

"Pleasure to meet you, Nudge." Dylan said with a chuckle. He held out his hand for Nudge's hand and shook it while Nudge stood there shocked into speechless for once in her life. With her mouth wide open and her eyes huge and Bambi like, it was comical. I hid my giggles behind my hand while Dylan gave me a wink. "Nudge do you want to-" Ella's voice cut off as she too saw Dylan. When he looked at her and smiled she looked down at the carpet. The creeping blush was unmistakable on her cheeks. Great now I had two thirteen year olds starstruck with Dylan. Lovely. Was it going to be this way at school too? Ugh, perfect. I guess it wasn't Dylan's fault that he was so drool-worthy though. _Oh crap, I sound like Nudge. _Never a good sign.

"Ella, this is Dylan. Dylan this is Ella, Nudge's friend." I say to quickly take my mind off my last train of embarrassing thoughts.

"Hi Ella, nice to meet you." Dylan says a kind smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you too." Ella's says in a soft voice. This time she's brave enough to offer a shy smile in return. Nudge has somewhat returned to normal and starts pulling Ella toward the stairs. Probably going up to her room to gossip about Dylan.

"Bye, Max. Nice to meet you, Dylan!" She throws over her shoulder, flashing a smile.

"My, my, aren't you a hit with the ladies. Younger women, huh?" I say in a way so he knows I'm just kidding.

"It's not my fault I have the face of an angel." He says oh-so-modestly. But he winks at me and we both laugh. When I turn around I see Fang making his way to us with Lissa. You can tell there's something off about them, right away. They are trying hard not to look at each other and standing as tense as statues next to one another

"Oh hey guys!" I say trying to lighten up the mood. "Um, Dylan you know Fang but this is Fan- uh, Lissa." I say. For some reason I didn't think it would be a good idea to introduce her as Fang's girlfriend. Not with how they were acting. I would let them say it themselves.

"Hi, you must be Dylan!" Lissa smiles at him, making an obvious effort to retain the party mood.

"Yep, the one and only." Dylan says with a smile. We all laugh lightly. Wow this is awkward.

"Umm is anyone thirsty? I'm going to get something to drink." I announce as silence settles on the four of us.

"I'll take a coke if you don't mind." Dylan says.

"Water will be good for me." Lissa chimes in.

"I'll go with you." Fang offers. I shoot him a look but turn away and head to the cooler.

"What was that about?" I ask him. He just shakes his head.

"Nothing." He mutters.

"Uh Fang, I wasn't born yesterday. That wasn't nothing. Something's been up with you two since Phantom. What's wrong?" I demand turning around and facing him. I'm using my no-nonsense voice and he knows better than to try and get himself out of this one.

"I don't know." Fang sighs. "I just feel like she's changed. Or maybe that's not it. Maybe I've changed. But I know that something has changed. It's not the way it used to be." He said quietly.

"Oh." Is all I can think of to say. "Well, I'm no expert, but I think you should talk to her about it. She seems pretty torn up." I say as I glance at Lissa over his shoulder. I remember her break-down in my dressing room. I didn't want that to happen again. Not only for her sake, but mine as well. Even though Dylan was talking to Lissa, she kept shooting glances over at the two of us.

"Yeah, I know, I will. Just not right now." He says. I nod and turn to get the drinks. When I turn around I'm staring right into Fang's chest. I didn't realize how close he was behind me. I look up at him and see his dark serious eyes focused on mine. My breath caught. His stare was intense. I blinked and quickly looked away.

"Can you hold these for me?" I ask, clearing my throat. As I hand him the drinks our fingers brush against each others. It sends little sparks up my arm. _I wonder if he felt them too. No,_ I chide myself. It was just the cold. Fang was my friend, that's all. I shook my head as I turned back to the cooler.  
"What would you like?" I ask him keeping my eyes on the drinks.

"I'll take a sprite." He says. His voice is calm. It must have been my imagination.

"Okay." I reply picking up two sprites. Sprite sounded good. When we returned to Dylan and Lissa they were discussing the spring musical.

"The drama department is still considering which one to do. We're thinking maybe Wicked or Into the Woods." She was explaining.

"Oh, that's cool." Dylan said politely.

"Do you sing?" Lissa asked.

"Um, no one but the shower head has had the pleasure of hearing me live." He said with a grin. Lissa laughed and I felt a jolt of jealousy run through me. _What was that about_? I shake my head. I must not have gotten enough sleep last night.

"What are you talking about?" I ask him. "You're a great singer." I say in answer my own question. Time to rat him out.

"You bad boy! Our school's has a really strong choir and a drama club. We could use you." Lissa said, a look of unhidden curiosity on her elfish face. Standing next to Dylan, she was tiny. Or Dylan had gotten taller. My find flashed back to that last day of Freshman year when we were standing at my locker and I had noticed he wasn't that little boy anymore. I shook my head bringing myself back to the present. I needed a good distraction.

"Yeah, Dylan. You would be great at that. Even though, technically no one has really heard you sing, I have. You would make it." I say with a smile. Having him in choir would be fun. Mrs. Leekly would love him and I know that it would make the hour go by faster. I was still a little bitter about losing the bet with Fang.

Dylan laughed. "Right. And have the pleasure of me breaking the windows?" He grinned. I knew he really was serious. He doubted his ability to do everything perfectly even more than I did. Until now I had taken advantage of it, but yes, Dylan really was perfect. In LA he was in all the honors classes available, had naturally impossibly good looks (without flaunting them, I may add, and YES I just said that okay?,deal with it), and had the ability to make any friends he wanted. Why he chose to hang out with me and J.J. was beyond me.

"Oh, you can't be that bad! Sing something!" Lissa encouraged. Even though her voice was playful she sounded really interested in this new prospective singing partner.

"I couldn't. There's no music." He said with a smile.

"No music?" A dark quiet voice asked. I turned and almost ran headfirst into Fang, for the second time today. _Maximum!_

"Oh yeah, Fang can play a wicked guitar." I said with a smile. It quickly disappeared as I remember the conversation we had the last time I was playing with him. I was gonna kill Nudge for putting the idea of making a band, with me in it, into Fang's determined mind. I knew it was only a matter of time before he actually did something with it. His Fang-like determination was like nothing I had seen before.

"I was actually referring to you." Fang said with a small smile. He had his long fingers wrapped around his acoustic guitar.

"Max, you play guitar?" Dylan asked in surprise with an equally incredulous look.

"Uh, kinda. Fang's trying to teach me." I said. I wanted to run up to my room, lock the door, and hide under the covers. But of course I couldn't do that. I was Maximum Ride. I was not going to run from anything.

"She's taken to it very well." Fang said in the most unlike-Fang way I had ever heard. _She has taken to it very well?_ Ignoring my arched eyebrow he handed me the guitar.

"But Fang, you're so much better. Really you should play. I'm bound to screw up." I said thrusting the instrument back into his hands. But he had already hidden them behind his back. Jerk.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll be fine." He said. Amusement danced in his obsidian eyes.

"She sings too." Lissa chimed in helpfully. I gave her a steely look and she cringed away. At least I hadn't lost my edge completely.

"You sing? Wow, who are you and what have you done with Maximum Ride? The Max back in LA never sang or played any instruments." Dylan asked in what weirdly looked like... awe. _What?_

"Yeah, well..." I trailed off. By now the entire party had come around and were listening to our conversation.

"Come on you guys! Why don't you all sing something?" Iggy chimed in. He was lounging on the couch. That butt-head.

"Oh, just like you when you chickened out of the Phantom auditions?" I asked him sweetly, but my eyes were burning two holes through his head. His adam's-apple bobbed as he swallowed nervously.

"I'll play drums?" He offered grabbing the wooden side table.

"Okay! What song should we sing?" Lissa was literally jumping up and down. I had a feeling she loved the opportunity to share her talents, especially in front of cute boys.

"How about _Just a Kiss _by Lady Antebellum?" An excited female voice asked._ Dang it!_ I thought, I knew that one.I turned to see Nudge standing in the doorway with a smiling Ella beside her.

"Okay, how about you start?" I suggested.

"Okay." Nudge said easily. Wait, what? That was supposed to throw her. I glared at her then turned to Fang. He shrugged.

"It must run in the family." He said an apologetic look on his face. ARGH!

"Well I don't know how to play it!" I said throwing a smug look in his direction.

"Oh, no problem. I'll play -" I smiled, the satisfaction of winning running through me. "- while you sing." He finished. My stomach flip-flopped.

"Uh..." I said.

"Great! So how do you want to split this up? Since Dylan hasn't heard Max sing she can take verse one and the chorus with er... Fang? And since Nudge is going to sing she can take the second verse with Dylan?" I knew she didn't want to get paired with Fang by the way she stumbled over his name. I sighed inwardly.

"Oh, it's okay Lissa, you can sing with Dylan. I'll sing another time." She winked at me and I scowled back. I realized that even though Lissa hadn't offered to sing she still wanted to, Nudge was getting out of singing as well as doing something nice for someone else.

"Nudge why don't you sing with Fang? I'll sit this one out." I offered making one last effort to get out of the inevitable.

"Nope, it's decided. Ella and I promise to sing something after." She said with a smile. Ella just stared at her, her mouth open for a second. She quickly closed it and glared at Nudge. Perfect now there were two of us who wanted to kill the mocha skinned girl who stood beaming at us.

"Okay, let's get this over with then." I said rolling my eyes. And then Fang started to play.

*ooOoo*

**Dylan's POV**  
I was still shocked that Max actually sang and played the guitar. It was this whole other side of her. In LA she had kept to herself. She didn't really need anyone, she could have been totally independent. She certainly never took time to sing or learn to play instruments. In Arizona I saw a softer, less remote Max. And I loved her even more for it.  
As the music started Max had a pinched look on her face. By the time it was time for her to sing she had begun to relax in a way that only doing something you loved could. She had closed her eyes and was nodding slightly to the beat. I don't think she even knew that she was doing it.

Then, Max took a deep breath and started singing.

**Lyin' here with you so close to me**  
**It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe**  
**Caught up in this moment**  
**Caught up in your smile**

Max singing. It was like nothing else I had ever heard. I knew she would be good, she was good at anything she put her mind to... well except cooking. But her voice, my God, it was so pure and gorgeous. You could sing anything with that type of voice. I hope it was just my imagination that my mouth was hanging open in awe.  
Then Fang took over.

**I've never opened up to anyone**  
**So hard to hold back when I'm holding you in my arms**

His voice was impressive as well. Sheesh, it must be in the water.

Then together they sang, in perfect harmony, I might add:

**We don't need to rush this**  
**Let's just take this slow**  
**Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight**  
**Just a touch in the fire burning so bright**  
**and I don't want to mess this thing up**  
**I don't want to push too far**  
**Just a shot in the dark that you just might**  
**Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life**  
**So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight**

Boy they sounded good. Their voices sounded meant for each other. If that's possible. A twinge of jealousy coursed through me. It was obvious they had sung together before. I didn't like the idea that I didn't know this side to Max. That it was something she shared with someone else instead of me. My attention was jolted back to present as Lissa started to sing in her clear, sweet voice. Pretty, but if we're being truthful here it didn't have anything on Max's or Fang's, but I may just be biased. But I admit, it was still pretty.

**I know that if we give this a little time**  
**It will only bring us closer to the love we wanna find**

I breathed deep and joined in with her. Together we harmonized.

**It's never felt so real, no it's never felt so right**  
**Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight**  
**Just a touch in the fire burning so bright**  
**and I don't want to mess this thing up**  
**I don't want to push too far**  
**Just a shot in the dark that you just might**  
**Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life**  
**So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight**  
**No I don't want to say goodnight**

I smiled and she smiled back at me, we sounded pretty good together too. I sang alone:

**I know it's time to leave, **  
And Lissa finished.  
**But you'll be in my dreams,**  
**tonight**  
I echoed her with my own,  
**Tonight,**  
And then together we harmonized.  
**Tonight,**  
Max and Fang joined us and we all reprised the chorus together.

**Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight**  
**Just a touch in the fire burning so bright**  
**and I don't want to mess this thing up**  
**I don't want to push too far**  
**Just a shot in the dark that you just might**  
**Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life**  
**So baby I'm alright, oh, let's do this right, with just a kiss goodnight**  
**With a kiss goodnight**

Then as if by anonymous agreement we all stopped and let Max finish.

**Kiss goodnight**

Her voice carried her gentle vibrato before the last note lingered in the air. There was a sort of silence before everyone started cheering. Someone let out a whistle of appreciation, probably Iggy.

"Wow, Max. You've kept that talent hidden all this time?" I asked her incredulously. Wow didn't even cover it.  
"Uh. I don't know about talent. But yes, I don't normally sing." She replied sounding bitter. "I was forced to." She glared at Iggy. Hmm... I reminded myself to ask him about it later.

"It's not fair to keep that voice hidden." I reprimanded. She just rolled her eyes at me. Good old, Max.

"Max isn't the only one with talent. You've got an amazing voice as well!" Lissa exclaimed smiling at me.

"Huh, I don't know. I've never thought that I had one." I said truthfully. Seriously? I had a good voice?

"Well of course you do. I've told you a million times." Max said arching her eyebrow.

"No, actually you never said it." I replied, if she did I would have remembered.

"Well... I thought you knew. I didn't think I had to say it aloud. Why else did you think everyone liked you so much?" She said jokingly. The only thing that registered out of what she said was the fact that she thought my singing was good. Gah! I was losing brain cells by the second. I broke away from her gaze - it made me lose my train of thought.

"You're really good too, Fang." I said turning to him. He shrugged, not disagreeing but not agreeing either. "I mean it, man." I insisted. The side of his mouth just quirked up in a slight smile. It made me notice how quiet and reserved he normally was. I knew it would be horrible to get on his bad side. _We were total opposites._ I don't know how that popped into my head but it did. This place was making my head hurt.

"You ever consider making a band?" I probed.

"Nope. Never." Max's voice answered for him, matter of fact.

"Really? Because you guys all sound so good." I said, understatement of the century.

"I told them they should." Nudge chimed in with a sly smile in Max's direction. What was that about? "Max is just opposed to the whole idea." She explained. Ah, that explains it then.

"Well, now I thought you and Ella were going to sing? We sang, your turn now missy." Max said, glaring at Nudge. Nudge just smiled sweetly and gestured to Ella.

"Oh, no. You get to this on your own. I was never part of this." Ella says holding her hand up in the "Whoa Nelly" gesture.

"Nope, it's decided, you're singing with me whether you like it or not." Nudge says firmly. "You owe me, remember?" Nudge reminded with a raise of an eyebrow.

After a moments hesitation Ella sighed in defeat and joined Nudge in the middle of the living room. "Fine, but after this we're even."

"Done." Nudge said with a smile. I figured she was the sort of girl who knew what she wanted and always got what she wanted, but not in a bad way, she just knew how to persuade people to do so.

"Well, what are we going to sing?" Ella asked.

"_Mine_ by Taylor Swift. You can choose the verses." Nudge said.

"Fine. You get to go first. I'll take the second verse." Ella said with a sigh.

"Harmony or melody?" Nudge asked.

"Up to you." She said.

"Fine I'll take melody." Ella nodded her consent as Fang picked up the guitar. He held it out to Max. This time she took it without saying anything. Fang whispered something in her ear and she nodded arranging her fingers on the correct frets. Nudge nodded to Max and she began playing.

Nudge looked right at ease when she sang, tapping her foot to the beat.  
**Ah, ah, ah, ohhh**

She continued and Ella joined in adding some cool harmony.  
**Ah, ah, ah, ohhh**

Nudge continued alone her voice strong and clear.  
**You were in college working part time waitin' tables**  
**Left a small town, never looked back**  
**I was a flight risk, with a fear of falling**  
**Wondering why we bother with love**  
**If it never lasts**

As the song bridged into the chorus, she caught Ella's eye and smiled. Ella smiled back at her, I knew they didn't hold grudges against each other for long.  
**I say can you believe it **

If it was possible, Nudge sounded even better on the high notes.  
Ella joined in and they both sang,  
**As we're lying on the couch**

Then Nudge continued alone,  
**The moment I can see it, yes, yes**  
**I can see it now**

Nudge took the melody and Ella joined in with a slightly lower harmony. Their voices matched each other's perfectly. Neither was too overpowering.  
**Do you remember we were sitting there by the water**  
**You put your arm around me for the first time**  
**You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter**  
**You are the best thing that's ever been mine**

Ella's turn was next, but after the first verse was over she had relaxed considerably. She sang in a lighter but sweet as honey voice,  
**Fast forward and takin' on the world together**  
**And there's a drawer of my things at your place**  
**You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded**  
**You say we'll never make my parent's mistakes**

**But we got bills to pay**

**We got nothing figured out**  
Just as in the first bridge, they sang this mono line together before Ella continued by herself.

**When it was hard to take yes, yes,**  
**This is what I thought about**

The harmonies were back as they came back to chorus.  
**Do you remember we were sitting there by the water**  
**You put your arm around me for the first time**  
**You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter**  
**You are the best thing that's ever been mine**

**Do you remember all the city lights on the water**  
**You saw me start to believe for the first time**  
**You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter**  
**You are the best thing that's ever been mine**

Nudge sang, modulating her strong voice,  
**And I remember that fight 2:30am**  
**'Cuz everything was slipping right out of our hands**  
**I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street**

Ella took over in a smooth transition, calming the tone of the song. Her notes sliding together, a voice that could pull of country perfectly.  
**Braced myself for the good-bye**  
**'Cuz that's all I've ever known**  
**But you took me by surprise**  
**You said, "I'll never leave you alone"**

For a second there was a complete silence, even Max paused before continuing.  
Ella continued building intensity and volume with each line she sang. Max followed her lead with the guitar.  
**You said,**  
**"I remember how we felt sitting by the water**  
**And every time I look at you it's like the first time**  
**I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter**  
**She is the best thing that's ever been mine"**

As Ella sustained her note, Nudge harmonized.  
**Hold on, we'll make it last**  
**Hold on, never turn back**

Nudge continued with the melody while Ella sang under her adding an accompanying part.  
**You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter**  
**(Hold on, hold on)**

**You are the best thing that's ever been mine**  
**(Hold on, do you believe it, hold on)**

**We're gonna make it now**  
**(Hold on)**

**And I can see it**

Nudge and Ella both ended in unison,  
**Yes, yes, I can see it now**

The entire living room burst into applause, myself included. They were really good too. They would be gold in a place like LA.

"Wow, you two, nice job!" A male's voice cut through the chatter. I turned to see a guy shorter and slighter than myself, with light brown hair and hazely, green eyes. He had a friendly smile on his face and you could tell he himself appreciated music.

"Thanks, Sam." Nudge said with a smile. Ella just smiled in return.

"You're very welcome. Be sure to try out for your middle school musical. You guys would be sure to get in." He said. Ah, a drama club member, figures.  
"Hey." He said turning to Max, he stepped over to her. "You feeling alright?" Sam asked her, she had gone pale and looked a little sick.

"You don't look so good." I commented with concern. I wonder who this guy was. He seemed pretty close to Max.

"I'm fine. Sam, this is Dylan, Dylan this is Sam." Max said, formally introducing us.

"Nice to meet you, Max's told us a lot about you." Sam said holding out his hand. I took it and shook hands with him.

"Oh, I guess that's good." I said looking at Max. She still hadn't returned to her normal coloring.

"What's the matter?" I asked her using my no-nonsense voice.

"Nothing." She said, narrowing her eyes. She didn't like being the focus of concern. There, now she looked a little more like the Max I knew.

"So how do you know Max? School?" I ask Sam. Then I realized how stupid that was, 1) of course he knew her from school, where else would they know each other from? and 2) I just showed how much Max didn't tell me about her friends here, I hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Um yeah, actually. We met during our school's production of Phantom. We got really close." He said.

_"How close?"_ I didn't actually say it, but I knew from the tightening of my eyes it was blankly on my face. Max was the one that answered.

"Actually Dylan... Sam's my boyfriend." Well, things got a hell of a lot better after that.

* * *

**What a nice icebreaker, huh? Poor Dylan, finding out the hard way the girl of his dreams is unavailable after all. Hopefully I'll get another chapter up soon! Stay tuned to find out what happens next!**

**Fly on,**  
**Mx2Blue326**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey all,**  
**I know it's been a while - sorry for that. Everything has just been crazy! But here's another chapter for you!**

**Disclaimer****: Max & Co. belong in full to the amazing James Patterson.**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Sam's POV**

_"Actually Dylan, Sam's my boyfriend."_

I just stare at her, uncomprehending. Seriously?! After everything, NOW she decides to finally show some interest in someone and date? NOW?! She was _never_ interested in any of the guys back home, as a matter of fact, she was oblivious to them. I don't think she even realized anyone, let alone me, had feelings for her. And trust me, there were a lot of them showing interest, so it never bothered me. If she didn't know how I felt, at least she never showed any interest in anyone else. I thought there was no way she could possibly find herself someone here - especially since she was so opposed to it before hand.

I guess I should feel more, but right now I'm just numb. I take a deep breath. No it's not fair to Max, I never told her how I felt about her, besides that time that I told her and it completely failed. So I force a smile and shake Sam's hand. Whatever happens after that is a blur. I just want to go home, curl up in a ball and cry my heart out. But I can't do that to Max. I look down give myself a second to compose myself, take a deep breath, and continue with my charade.

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**

I hold my breath in anticipation for Dylan's reaction. Would he be okay? I mean, he used to be the only guy in my life, my best friend. But now he's here, probably expecting me to still be mad at Jeb but instead finds me settling down into my new life with ease. Not to mention, a new best guy-friend and a boyfriend.

I watch as his expression goes from utter shock, to something I can't place, to an expression verging on anger, and finally the worst expression yet, blank. Empty. I have never seen him look like that before. The usual life and sparkle of his blue eyes has gone out. They are dull and glassy and he quickly looks at the floor.

Everyone else was holding their breath, not daring to break the silence. Even though they don't know the entire story, they probably have figured out that something was amiss. I'm about to go forward and check on him when he looks up and smiles. But I know his smile, and that's not it. It doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hey, man. You're going to have you hands full with Max." He says extending his hand to Sam.  
"I already do." Sam says returning Dylan's smile and handshake. I let out a breath and feel like I can breathe again. It was alright, the worst was behind us. It may take him a long time to forgive me, but Dylan was not one to hold a grudge and I know for a fact that whenever I fall, he will always be there to pick me up and dust me off again. He wouldn't leave me hanging. I feel a pang of remorse and guilt when I think that just because of distance or time, our friendship would waver. Going over to Dylan I catch his eye, with difficulty, I might add, and he follows me to the drinks table.  
"Hey," I start.  
"Hey," he replies a small smile on his face. His fake smile.  
"Well... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," I get out. He muttered something staring at the floor, but I couldn't make it out. "What was that?" I ask.  
"Nothing." He says with a small sigh. I read over impulsively and give his shoulder a squeeze.  
"So, you like him. I guess I don't have to beat him up?" He says, hinting at his normal humor. I laugh, glad the initial shock has worn off.  
"Yes, I do like him," I reply with a laugh. He smiles back at me, a real Dylan smile this time. That makes me so happy. I grab his arm, hooking it with mine and we head back to the party.

*ooOoo*

**Fang's POV**  
Well, _that's_ what Max was worried about. Dylan finding out about Sam. I knew something was off, ever since she heard that he was moving back to Arizona, but I didn't know the real reason. Now that I think about it, for some reason it bothers me. _That's ridiculous, Fang, why does that bother you?_ I don't know but it does. It's not Dylan exactly... but right now I can't put my finger on it.  
All of these thoughts are running through my head, but no one knows. I have an excellent poker face. So naturally, it's no surprise that Max sees right through it. She's the only one who can do that, see right through me.  
"Hey, what's up?" She asks siding up to me.  
"Nothing much. Good party." I reply. _Play it cool, Fang._  
"Mmmhmmm." She replies, but we both know it means that she knows that I know that she knows something's up.  
"It's nothing. I'm fine." I reply earnestly. She ain't buying it for a second.  
"No. Everything is not fine. What's the problem?" She asks in her no nonsense tone of voice.  
"I don't know." I reply honestly, no need to elaborate. Obviously, Max has other plans.  
"It may help to talk about it." She hints at me.  
"Well," I begin, but immediately decide to lie, "I like Nudge's idea of starting a band". I say.  
"Are you for real?" She asks me, incredulous.  
"Uh, yeah." I reply. Great, now what have I gotten myself into? So I decide to play it by hear I'm out of the red zone.  
"Who are you and what have you done with the real Fang?" she asks me.  
"Ummm... I don't know. After hearing everyone at the party it just seemed like something that would be cool to do." I reply. Internally I'm patting myself on the back as well as slapping myself in the face. Nice cover, Fang, but seriously? A band?  
"Well... I guess it was okay. But good luck with that." She says walking away. I know she wants to get out of this conversation as fast as possible.  
"Mhm." I reply, watching her as she goes back to join Dylan. When I see them together I finally place the weird feeling I got in my head, I was jealous. Jealous of how easy she was acting with him, how casual she placed her hand on his arm, how good they looked standing next to each other. _But that's ridiculous, Fang, _I think to myself. It's _Max_.  
_Yeah, but she's also the best thing that's ever happened to you, _an inner voice chimes to me. _WHAT?! _I quickly walk over to the cooler and grab a handful of ice and drop it down the back of my shirt. _Wow, that was stupid_, I'm thinking to myself as a harsh shiver runs through me. Another voice, the one I know to be mine, adds, _but effective._

*ooOoo*

**Max's POV**  
Fang, start a band? Seriously?! Is he for real? I mean, he's got the best voice I've ever heard, but I never pegged him as the type to start a freakin' band. When he was acting weird that was the last thing I thought to be on his mind. I thought he was thinking about his problems with Lissa, not about starting a band!  
"What were you talking with Fang about?" Dylan asks me as I return to him.  
"Well, he said that he actually liked Nudge's idea of starting a band." I reply, slowly. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the preposterous idea.  
"Oh. Well that's great. He would be great at that." Dylan says. There's something under his voice that I can't quite place, could it be jealousy? But it's gone before I can ponder it long enough.  
"I guess so, but it just seems so unlike him..." I reply trailing off. Then I see the weirdest thing happen. Fang strides over to the drink cooler, no that's not the weird part, okay? The weird part is he grabs a handful of ice and shoves it down the back of his shirt. _What the -?_ I look around to see Dylan staring off into the distance and everyone else immersed in their private conversations. I was the only one to witness Fang's strange behavior. _Yeah, because you're always aware of him, everyday, everytime, everyplace. _My mind says.

"Shut up." I mutter under my breath which causes Dylan to look at me like I'm a lunatic. Well, I'm hearing crazy voices in my head so that probably gives him permission to. Before I can analyze what the voice in my head says or Fang's actions too much Nudge comes up to me and Dylan.

"Hey." She says.  
"Hey." I reply still crinkling my brow.  
"What's wrong?" She asks.  
"I don't know. Ask Fang." I reply. With a shrug she goes to Fang and starts talking to him. Haha, I think, now look who's on the spot. I smile discreetly to myself. Glancing back every now and then he finally catches my eye. Nudge is jumping up and down and Fang is glaring at me, like burn a hole in your skull kind of glaring. I crack up. That's the Fang I know and love. _WHOAH!_ Did I just-? Nope, not even going to THINK about that right now. Thankfully I don't have to because Nudge jumps onto the low table in the middle of the room and says she has an announcement to make.  
"Hey everyone! First of all, great party, right?" Cheers and applause answers Nudge. She jumps up and down on the balls of her feet a little, barely containing her excitement.  
"Okay, ready for the big news?" she asks. "Yes?" She says without a moment's pause. Was it a rhetorical question? You bet it was. Nothing can stop Nudge now, not even my hand slapping over her mouth as she squeals: "Fang and Max have decided to create a band together!"  
And that's, when all hell broke loose.

* * *

**Sorry guys, I've had this typed up for awhile but have never been able to finish. Okay, here's the next chapter. Let's hope that I'll be able to balance my life a little better and continue. Hahaha. :)**

**Fly on, **  
**Mx2Blue326**


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